


Atonement

by Stella_Luna777



Series: The Silver Reaper [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Angst, BAMF Hatake Kakashi, BAMF Uchiha Mikoto, Character Death, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Good Orochimaru (Naruto), Good Uchiha Itachi, Good Uchiha Obito, Hatake Kakashi Has Issues, Hatake Kakashi-centric, Kid Hatake Kakashi, No Uchiha Massacre, Protective Hatake Kakashi, Rokudaime Hatake Kakashi, Romance, Sakumo Hatake lives, Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-04
Updated: 2021-02-09
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:41:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 32
Words: 109,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24369025
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stella_Luna777/pseuds/Stella_Luna777
Summary: He wanted to die.What was there left to live for?He had failed them.His friends, his comrades, his father, his sensei and worst of all his students.Heck, he let the entire world down!In the end he was ready to follow in his fathers  footsteps and just end all of it.But what if Kami decided to play with him?What if she gave him the chance to atone for all of his failures?So now Kakashi has to learn how to live again without losing the last bit of his sanity.Will he get help from the unlikeliest places or will he break under his crushing need of atonement?
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi/Mitarashi Anko
Series: The Silver Reaper [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2152521
Comments: 47
Kudos: 224





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, this is my first story so please be respectful with criticism.  
> Also, English isn't my first language so please bare with it if some things don't make sense.  
> I'd love to hear what you think of the story and I'm grateful for every comment.  
> The same story is posted under the same name and under my profile Stella-Luna on wattpad.  
> Please don't copy the story, I put a lot of hard work into it. 
> 
> That was it from me, so have fun reading.  
> Stella x

They lost. 

As simple as the statement seemed, it was devastating for the shinobi world. Well, that what was left of the world which wasn't much more than a few burning ruins. 

Nobody knew exactly how, but somehow Kaguya had overpowered Naruto and Sasuke and the result was the death of every single shinobi except Sasuke, Kakashi and Naruto who was on the brink of death since he shielded his comrades. 

"Hang on, Naruto! We'll figure something out. Just stay awake!", said a distraught Kakashi.

Naruto was laying on the floor covered in cuts and deep wounds while his two friends were kneeing next to him.  
He had protected them from Kaguyas attack and now he was paying the price for his selfless action.  
Sasuke, no less shocked of the state his best friend was in, tried his best to search for any survivors with his sharingan in hope to find a medical nin. 

"Where is that damned fox when you need him?"

It was seldom that Kakashi cussed but the war had changed him in more than one way and seeing his dear student on the brink of death drove the usually strong man towards insanity.

Sasuke, being the only one using his chakra to scout out the surroundings, reacted a split second faster than his sensei and threw himself in front of Kakashi. Kakashis eyes widened at the horrifying sight he was seeing. With a loud thump Sasuke fell on his knees with a hole in his abdomen while blood was flowing out of his eyes, making it appear as if he was crying, and very slowly his lips twitched into a genuine smile.

"I'm sorry Kakashi-sensei,dobe. Thank you for everything."

And then it was over. In fairy tales the death of people is always so dramatic and they have a long monologue before they die, however this wasn't a fairy tale no matter how hard Kakashi wished it to be. Sasuke had no chance to say more than these few words before he was actually gone. It was just like switching a light on or of. 

Sasukes lifeless body dropped to the hard and destroyed ground without anyone to catch him. 

Naruto, unable to move, was still laying on the same ground, tears streaming down and his face twisted into a grimace of utterly emotional pain. And Kakashi...Kakashi was frozen in place, unable to even blink. His mind just couldn't accept what happened. 

Why did Sasuke intercept Kaguyas attack that was aimed for him? Why couldn't he himself react faster? Why...?

"Sensei...", Narutos usually loud and booming voice was quiet and brittle, nothing like the happy knucklehead-ninja he was before the war. 

Kakashi immediately turned his attention to his last student. 

Narutos sun kissed blond hair was now a dark crimson colour from all the dried blood in it and his once cerulean blue eyes were dull and hopeless. However, there was still that little spark of faith that was directed towards his sensei. 

Naruto had faith in his sensei, a sensei that never really was one for him and that was something Kakashi couldn't understand. How could Naruto be this kind to someone who had ignored him almost his entire life just in favour of another student? How could Naruto have faith in him when knowing that Kakashi should have been there for him in his childhood? How could he even look at him?

"I don't have much time sensei, so listen closely. Thank you for everything and I forgive you for ignoring me when I was a genin. I know it still bothers you but don't worry about it. Also don't blame yourself for my childhood, you couldn't have changed anything anyway. Kurama says he can't delay my death any longer so this will be it, sensei. I speak for all of us, Sakura, Sasuke and me, when I tell you that we were proud to be your students, Kakashi-sensei." 

Naruto gave his shell shocked sensei one last big smile before those cerulean blue eyes were closed forever and left a devastated and broken shinobi back.

"Naruto...", Kakashi had finally found his voice once again and whispered now the name of his last student. 

His mind, body and soul were in deny of the current events. How did it come to this? One moment they were winning and next Kakashi found himself on a battle field that resembled a grave yard. The fight had cost them everything they got and the sole reason of this slaughter, Kaguya, was still out there!

Hesitantly Kakashi stretched one of his blood-covered hands towards Naruto to see if this was just an illusion but when his hand touched the cold and lifeless skin of his student, he jumped back as is he was burned. Hasty he formed the hand signs. 

"Kai."

But nothing happened and Kakashis last hope of this being just a cruel genjutsu shattered and with it he broke down.

Tears filled his mismatched eyes and silent sobs escaped his mouth when he tried to breath. 

Kakashi Hatake had lost it.

He had finally lost it. 

Slowly realising that nobody was left, he started to sob louder and ended up screaming his pain out in the destroyed world that was left after this fight, after this war that should never have happened.

Kaguya, hearing the loud screams of despair and agony chuckled silently.

She did it. There was only a single shinobi left in this world and soon there would be non. But she wouldn't be the one to end the suffering of this broken soul. Oh no! She would enjoy seeing the last shinobi break. She would let him suffer, feel the agony and pain of loosing everything. She would watch him end his miserable life and disgrace the shinobi way, that they were so proud of.

Kakashi screamed, sobbed and cussed until he couldn't speak anymore.

He was the spitting image of despair. Bloodshot eyes, hoarse voice, hair standing in all directions, covered in cuts and blood seeping slowly through his torn clothes. He wasn't as injured as Naruto or Sasuke were but he would surely die if he didn't tend to his wounds soon.

But wasn't this what he wanted?

Didn't he want it to just stop? 

What was there left to live for anyway?

Kaguya had destroyed everything! 

Anger rose up in Kakashi when thinking about the rabbit-goddess, but as fast as his anger rose as fast it dropped when Kakashis eyes fell on Sasuke and Naruto and he slumped forwards. 

He was powerless! He was nothing without his students to supports him! The great copy ninja wasn't more than an empty shell of his former self. 

Slowly but resolutely grabbed he one of his kunais. He observed it carefully seeing how it shimmered in the light of the sunset. It would be the last sunset he would see but Kakashi payed no mind to the beauty of it. Without any further hesitation, he put the kunai on his right wrist and gave his two students a last miserable smile before closing his eyes and putting pressure on the kunai. 

He felt his blood quell out of the self-inflicted wound. The kunai dropped out of his hand and his body was growing numb. His last thoughts were about the people he cared about and failed to protect. He had nothing but regrets. 

Sakumo Hatake, his father.  
If he would have been more considerate maybe he would have realised how his father felt.  
If he would have been more open with his emotions maybe his father would have seen how much Kakashi needed him.  
If he would have been stronger maybe he could have protected his father from Konohas citizens and his own guilt.

Obito Uchiha, his teammate and best friend.  
If he would have been faster Obito wouldn't have had to safe him. He wouldn't have been crushed by those rocks.  
If he would have gone back after Minato-sensei found them maybe Obito would have still been there.  
If he wouldn't have been such an arrogant ass than maybe Obito would have seen him as a close friend and they could have train and fight together just like they did in this war. Without Kakashi Obito would have never gone down the wrong path and this war would have never started.

Rin Nohara, his second teammate.  
If he would have been stronger he could have stopped her being taken.  
If he would have been faster he could have saved her.  
If he would have shown that he cared for his teammates maybe Rin would have trusted him.  
If he would have been more calm he could have stopped his attack from hitting her. 

Minato Namikaze, his Hokage, sensei and second father-figure.  
He couldn't protect him! What kind of personal ANBU was he to let this happen?  
If he wouldn't have listened to Minatos orders he could have saved him. He could have done the sealing or at least bought Minato-sensei time to think about a better plan.  
And if he would have never talked about Kushinas pregnancy Obito would have never known about it and the attack would have never happened.

And Kushina Uzumaki, his mother-figure!  
If he would have been strong enough he could have looked after Naruto. He had disappointed her he was sure of it. 

Heck, he had let his entire family down! And in the fourth ninja war he let his friends down too!

Asuma Sarutobi, one of his closest friends.  
Asuma had died before the start of the fourth ninja war but Kakashi still felt as if it was his fault. After losing so many precious people he began to believe to be cursed. Asuma was just another victim of his curse. 

Kurenei Sarutobi Yuhi and her little daughter Mirai.  
Both were killed when thousands of Zetsus attacked their base while the shinobi army was out fighting. When Kakashi had found out about it, he was devastated. He broke his promise to Asuma and let his wife and daughter die. Mirai was not even a year old and had already seen the sorrow of war.

Might Gai, his eternal rival.  
Gai died while protecting his team from one of Kaguyas attacks. Kakashi was just standing there, unable to move and could only watch how his dear rival disappeared in a fireball. He was there but couldn't save him and he would never forgive himself for this. 

Iruka Umino, his friend.  
Iruka died while protecting some Academic students that somehow had survived up to now but not a minute later those students were murdered by Zetsus making Irukas sacrifice in vain.

Yamato, his partner in ANBU and Co-trainer for Team 7.  
He had lost a fight against the Zetsus and was tortured before beheaded. His death was a long and painful one and Kakashi ha silently sworn to avenge his death.

After all his friends had died he had to watch how the Rockie 12 were ripped apart.

Neji Hyuuga, Team Gai.  
He had sacrificed himself for Naruto and Hinata early on in the war. Kakashi could still remember Narutos haunted eyes when he brought Neji back to Konoha. After this event Team Guy was never the same and slowly they lost their will to fight. 

The next one on his long list of people he let down was Ten-ten.  
After Gai had died, Kakashi kind of became a second sensei for Team Gai but Ten-ten couldn't trust him like she trusted Guy. If Kakashi had known he would have been more thoughtful but so Ten-ten took one suicide mission after another and one day she didn't come back. Only after this was he told that Ten-ten had been in love with Neji and his and Gais death had broken her. 

Kakashi felt so guilty. Gai had entrusted his Team, his pride and legacy, to him and now only one member was left but soon there had been another death that cracked Kakashis soul. 

Rock Lee, last member of Team Gai.  
His death wasn't a horrible one. It wasn't painful, he wasn't tortured and he didn't have to suffer. However, for Kakashi it was a dreadful event. Lee had protected him just like Sasuke had done and instead of blaming Kakashi he had thanked him for being there and trying his best. But his best wasn't good enough, it never was!

Team 10: Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara and Choji Akamichi.  
Their death was heroic and dreadful at the same time. They had protected each other until the last moment but sometime their stamina had to run out and not even the genius Shikamaru could save them then. It was just another crack for Kakashis soul. He had known their parents since his birth and had given them his word to protect their children. And he had failed...again. 

Another tragedy that not only cracked Kakashi even further but also broke the ever happy sunshine Naruto was the capture and public execution of Team 8: Hinata Hyuuga, Kiba Inuzuka and Shino Aburame.  
Team 8 was on an easy mission in the land of lightning when they were ambushed and captured by Zetsu. Shortly before Team 7 began their fight against Kaguya, Zetsu appeared with Team 8. Naruto immediately tried to free his girlfriend and friends but before he could even touch one of them their heads were rolling. 

The memory of his failures tore Kakashi apart. It was so painful but the worst was yet to come. 

His Team. Team 7. 

Sai.  
Although he wasn't a part of Team 7 from the beginning he was still his student. Sai was killed by Madara before Team 7 started their dihht against Kaguya. If Kakashi would have been faster he could have saved him.

Sakura Haruno.  
She intercepted a fatal blow that was aimed for her love Sasuke. She was the first one out of the four to die. Kakashi wished that he could forget the look in Sasukes eyes when he realised what happened. This look of utter shock, betrayal and pain, the same look that he knew from himself. Kakashi never wanted anyone to experience the same inner pain he felt but he couldn't protect his student from the experience. 

Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki.  
Both protected him and both died. 

Kakashi blamed himself for all of their deaths and he would always blame himself. But now he could finally beg for their forgiveness.

His mismatched eyes were closed and he took his last breath. His heavy body fell to the ground and a smile that reflected all of his pain was painted on his face. His mask got destroyed earlier so his smile was for the whole world to see. And this was the end of the great Copy ninja and the last ninja of the world. 

Or at least that was what Kakashi had wished.


	2. Chapter 2

He felt heavy. 

Why did he feel like that? 

He was sure that he had ended his life and was meant to be dead.

Was there a kind soul left in this horrid world that had saved him and at the same time took his chance of freedom and atonement away?

Slowly he opened his eyes only to see the grey ceiling of a room.

Why was he in a room? He was pretty sure that every single building was destroyed during the war. However, Kakashi didn't care about his surroundings anymore when his memories came back full force.

Tears started to fall and Kakashi made himself as small as possible while sobbing loudly. 

"Naruto...Sasuke...Sakura...", crying, Kakashi muttered the names of his precious students. 

Suddenly the door was pushed open and a well build man with long grey hair stormed inside. He looked frantically around but when his eyes landed on the small sobbing and crying ball that was Kakashi, he forget the surroundings and hastily walked towards him. 

"Hey Kakashi...son...what's wrong?"

When Kakashi heard the voice he immediately froze. He knew this voice like the back of his hand. He knew the person it belonged to. He knew it all but ...it wasn't possible! He saw him die! For Kamis sake, HE was the one to his corps! There was no legal way for him to survive. Was it a reanimation jutsu? Had Orochimaru reanimated him? But wasn't he dead too? Was it a horrible genjutsu? Whatever it was it couldn't possible be him. His father was DEAD!

So Kakashi did the only reasonable thing and formed the hand signs.

"Release."

Nothing happened. The room was still the same and the man was still in front of him.

"Release!"

Nothing...

"Release! Release! Release! Re..."

"Kakashi stop! What is going on?" Sakumos firm voice interrupted his desperate chant. He was really worried about his son. Never before had he seen him like this: in tears, sobbing and frantically trying to release a genjutsu that wasn't there in the first place. It scared him to no end to see his brave son in this state.

"What...is...going...on?", like in trance Kakashi repeated his fathers question. If this wasn't a genjutsu than what was it? 

Maybe he just didn't have enough chakra to break it so the only other way to break out of it would be... Slowly his gaze focused on his fathers, or who ever it was, kunai holster. Faster than Sakumo could blink had Kakashi snatched a kunai and was holding it above his left wrist. In a quick motion he let the blade sink into his flesh expecting his world to blur and return to the blood drenched battlefield. Kakashi looked hysterically around when nothing happened other than that his blood was dripping on the floor. Deeply shocked, Sakumo did the first thing that came into his mind and knocked his hysteric son unconscious. Than he frantically searched for a couple of bandages before he took his patched up son to the hokage. It didn't matter to him that it was in the middle of the night or that other shinobis could see him. He didn't care if they would gossip about him, he just wanted to know what was going on with his son. He was his everything! 

Could it be that Kakashi was affected by all the gossip and blame he was getting because of that damned mission? Was Kakashi ashamed to have as father? Was it all his fault? But even if this was the case, it didn't explain why his sons eyes looked like he had lost everything in the entire world. Just what was going on?

Before he could drown in the many unanswered questions he arrived at the hokage tower. Without stopping he stormed in the hokages office while holding Kakashi tightly. He was immediately surrounded by ANBUs.

"Where's the hokage?", Sakumo asked hurriedly.

The Anbus hesitantly put down their weapons and one of them, probably their captain, stepped foreward. 

"What do you want, White Fang? Don't you know you are no longer welcomed here?" The ANBUs' harsh words cut deep in Sakumos soul but instead of turning around and leaving like he used to do, he stood his ground and glared back at the ANBU. For a moment he was glad that his son was unconscious.

"I know I am not welcomed here and believe me when I say I wish I could be somewhere else but I have to talk to the hokage, NOW! It is urgent !"

Taken back from Sakumos action, the ANBU captain signed one of his team members to get the hokage.

"Thank you.", was Sakumos simple and tired response.

A few minutes later Hiruzen Sarutobi, the third hokage, stormed into his office. When one of his ANBU informed him that Sakumo Hatake and a child were in his office waiting to speak with him, he had instantly gotten ready and run to the hokage tower.

He hadn't seen Sakumo since that one mission and he surely didn't blame him for his actions but he also knew that many villagers and shinobis did. Even the ones he had saved! But weren't his actions exactly what the will of fire symbolised? Wasn't friendship an important part of Konoha? In his opinion Sakumo had acted like a real shinobi of Konoha.

As soon as Hiruzen opened his office door he could see his ANBUs leaning on the walls and Sakumo with his Kakashi in his arms standing in the middle of the room. The poor boy was unusually pale and his tousled hair gave him a rather unsettling touch. And when he saw Sakumos tiered and disturbed look e knew something was definitely wrong.

"ANBU leave us." They immediately followed Hiruzen orders and disappeared into the night. Calming down a little bit Hiruzen walked to his hokage chair and sat down.

"Now Hatake-san, what did you want to talk about?"

The tired man lifted his gaze to look at his hokage and murmured: "It's Kakashi. I woke up in the middle of the night when I heard someone screaming and ran to Kakashis room to check for intruders. However no one was there except Kakashi who was crying and sobbing and ... oh kami you should have heard the scream hokage-sama...it sounded as if he had lost everything...so desperate...so horrifying...so full of pain...so"

To see this strong man in front of him so traumatised was shocking for Hiruzen and he could only imaging how painful it must have been for Sakumo. 

"Sakumo, calm down. What happened next?", he asked with a soothing voice. Sakumo calmed down slightly before he continued to tell what happened tonight.

"When he saw me he looked like he had seen a ghost... or as if he thought he was insane. He frantically tried to release a genjutsu and when nothing happened he...he took a kunai from my holster and cut his wrist! That was the point when I knocked him out and came here. Hokage-sama I don't know what happened! I don't know what to do! I don't even know why I'm here! Maybe he just had a nightmare but to see him like this...so utterly broken...and his reaction towards me...I didn't know...I am so confused..."

Small tears rolled down the white fang cheeks. Kakashi was all he had, he was his weakness and his strength. He was nothing without him.

The hokage was, mildly said, utterly shocked by seeing the white fang of Konoha crying. Folding his hands in front of him he decided on his next actions.

"Sakumo listen. Let me get my student Tsunade Senju. She can heal Kakashis injury and check if something else is wrong. After this you two will be going home and sleep for a bit longer. Maybe it was really just a really realistic nightmare. We'll see how he is in the morning and if he still is in the same state as you described we will let someone from the Yamanaka-clan take a look at his mind to see if someone is controlling him. Does this sound like a plan, Sakumo?" 

Sakumo reluctantly agreed even though he wanted to know immediately what was wrong with his son. But he also saw that this wouldn't happen in this night. He hoped that it really was only a nightmare. 

"Thank you hokage-sama.", he bowed gratefully.

While they were waiting for Tsunade to come, Sakumo was drowning in his thoughts again and started to realise that this was the night he had planned to end his suffering. But a look at the unconscious Kakashi in his arms or the memory of how vulnerable he had looked, made him think that this wasn't the best idea he had. Kakashi always looked so strong that Sakumo sometimes forgot that his son was still an eight year old child. He couldn't leave him alone and he felt ashamed for ever thinking about it. So he silently promised Kakashi to never think about committing suicide again. He would ignore all the gossip and blame for his sons happiness.


	3. Chapter 3

"I hope you have a good reason to call me at this time, sensei!", said a fuming Tsunade when she stormed into the office. When she saw Sakumo she calmed down a bit. This man let the legendary Sannins stand in the shadow and she admired him for his choice to save his comrades over the missions success. She knew how most of the village thought about him and seeing him and the hokage together, both with very concerned faces gave her the feeling that something huge had happened.

"Hello Tsunade-san.", greeted Sakumo the young medical ninja while Hiruzen glared at her. 

"Hello Hatake-san, sensei. What can I do for you?", she asked politely, the hard glare of her sensei well aware. 

"We need you to have a look at young Kakashi here, Tsunade. Sakumo told me he had a mental breakdown and tried to injure himself. Unfortunately he succeed in cutting his wrist before Sakumo could stop him. Can you heal him and also have a look if anything else is out of the ordinary?", asked Hiruzen his student. 

Slightly shocked that Sakumos son had a mental breakdown Tsunade just nodded and motioned to Sakumo to lay Kakashi down. When she saw the young boy she immediately asked herself what had happened. Not only was his appearance questionable but also although he was unconscious his body wasn't relaxed. He seemed haunted and ready to fight at any moment. If not for his age she would have thought to look at a seasoned warrior. Or rather a survivor. Her eyes fell on the blood soaked bandaged on the boys left wrist and she quickly started to unbind it. 

The cut was deep but nothing to hard to heal, not even a scar would be left. However, what caught Tsunades eye were the pale, thin lines that resembled old scars along his hands. They were probably from training so she didn't pay a lot to them. Instead she searched the rest of his body for other injuries. Luckily for Kakashi, Tsunades tired eyes didn't see the pale scar over his eye or the scar on his right wrist.

"There are no other injuries than this one as far as I can see, sensei. I'd advise that you not to train him too hard, Hatake-san. Too much training might have been the reason for his breakdown.", concluded Tsunade while holding back a yawn. 

"Okay, thank you Tsunade. You can go back to bed."

She politely bid her goodbye before racing back to her comfy bed. Left behind were two tired men and one unconscious child. 

"So it was my fault?", whispered Sakumo depressed.

"I don't think so Sakumo. The way you described him doesn't add up to simple too much training, there has to be something else but for now you two should go back to your home. It's almost 2 am and I'm sure we all could need some more sleep.Come back tomorrow morning if you feel the need to.", said Hiruzen. 

Sakumo understood the hint and took his son and left the hokage tower but not before speaking out his thank you. 

Soon the two Hatakes arrived at their home and Sakumo tugged his son gently into bed. He gave him one last loving look before falling into his own bed and falling into a dreamless sleep.

~ Timeskip 3 hours (5 am) ~ 

Kakashi slowly opened his eyes and sat up. When he saw the grey ceiling again, he didn't flip out like last time. Who knows what would happen if his father found him sobbing again. He was pretty sure he gave him a heart attack when he cut himself. Talking about cutting, he inspected both of his wrist and found out that his left wrist was completely healed while his right wrist carried a pale scar. That meant that his father had brought him to a medical nin or a nurse, what meant in return that someone else knew about his mental breakdown. 

Feeling that all of his guilt and pain was coming back, Kakashi did the only reasonable thing in his mind and jumped out of the window and ran towards the KIA stone. He had to think about a lot of things and there he could always let his thoughts run free. 

When he arrived at the KIA stone he felt suddenly calm. Although there weren't as many names on the stone as there were in his time, he felt strangely at home. By now Kakashi had realised that he hadn't died like he previously thought but instead he was back in time and he wasn't entirely sure to be happy about it or angry. 

He could finally atone for all of his mistakes but someone also took his chance to reunite with his friends away. The memory of his friends caused him to fall on his knees and tears to swell up. If he was really in the past he could change it all, he had a second chance on making it better. He could save his father, Obito, Rin, Minato, everyone and he could finally be the sensei Team 7 deserved. However, before he could do that he had to accept that, although he could see them all again, these were not his friends like before. And to do that he first would have to mourn and grieve for all of his precious people without anyone watching him. So Kakashi picked himself up and turned towards the forest of death. Nobody would be there to hear him cry and scream. 

A few hours later, Sakumo woke up only to run to his sons room to find an empty bed. Hysterically he ran through his house while calling Kakashis name. When he realised that Kakashi wasn't here, he turned towards the hokage tower to inform the hokage.

"Hokage-sama! Kakashi isn't in his room! I can't find him!"

Sakumo didn't even bother to knock, he was so worried about his son.

"What do you mean, Kakashi isn't in his room, Hatake-san?"

Sakumo hadn't even realised that Minato Namikaze was in the same room and heard everything. The now worried sensei of his son waited for answers that neither the hokage nor Sakumo himself could give him.

"Calm down Minato. Kakashi had a mental breakdown yesterday and it appears that he wasn't in his room this morning. There is no reason to freak out, I'll send out some ANBUs to find him while you, Minato, could search with the rest of your genins and take Sakumo out for breakfast so that the poor man calms down."

Sakumo didn't even listen to his hokage instead he walked up and down. Meanwhile Minato understood what the hokage meant. Sakumo really was an image of horror. 

"Understood hokage-sama. Maybe the other genin teams want to help too. Come on Hatake-san. Did you have breakfast yet? No? Okay, I'm sure Kushina can make us some and while we are at it you could tell me what happened."

Minato led the hysterical Sakumo out of the hokages office while Hiruzen watched the two grown men and thought of what could have happened to young Kakashi. A couple of ANBU were already out looking for the by however he was a genius so it could take them a while to find him. He just hoped that Kakashi would be fine otherwise Sakumo might be the next one with a mental breakdown. And now Minato knew about Kakashis state too and he wasn't sure if this was good or if it would worsen the situation. 

On their way to Kushina, Minato and Sakumo met Obito Uchiha and Rin Nohara.

"Hey sensei! Hello Hatake-san!", greeted Obito the two men excited.

Rin was way more polite than him and bowed before saying: "Good morning Minato-sensei and Hatake-san."

"Hey kids." Minato glanced worriedly at the silent Sakumo. "Have you seen Kakashi?"

"he is probably training, that arrogant teme.", growled Obito. When realising that Kakashis father was right next to him he quickly started to apologise.

"Why? Is something wrong, sensei?", asked Rin. She was really worried about her team mate. Minato quickly looked around and motioned them to come closer. 

"Kakashi had a mental breakdown some time yesterday and wasn't in his room today. I believe it must have been really bad otherwise Hatake-san wouldn't act like he does right now. Could you do me a favour and look for Kakashi? I'll take care of Sakumo and if you see any other genins ask them to help you, just don't mention his breakdown, okay? I'm sure he would appreciate it. oh,and training will be delayed until we find Kakashi. See you kids." 

Without waiting for a reply Minato ushered the silent Sakumo further towards his and Kushinas apartment.

Laughing out, Obito yelled: "Finally! That stuck-up Hatake isn't as powerful as he tries to act!"

As a response, Rin glared at him and growled: "You should be worried not happy! What if something happens to him? Haven't you seen what state Hatake-san was in? Let's hurry up and find Kakashi-kun. Maybe Guy has seen him, you know since he's always up so early."

Silently cursing Obito followed Rin in their search for Kakashi.

At the same time, Anko Mitarashi entered the forest of death for her usual morning routine. However, what she didn't expect was to find an exhausted silver haired ninja that couldn't be much older than herself.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After weeks and weeks of not updating I'm finally back! Hopefully there are still some readers interested in Atonement ;)   
> I'll be trying to update daily, however for those who don't want to wait, the entire book as well as the sequel are on wattpad under my profile Stella-Luna.   
> Stella xx

When Anko got a closer look, she realised that the exhausted shinobi was nobody else but the prodigy Kakashi Hatake. However, that boy in front of her didn't look like a prodigy. The boy looked tired, exhausted and half dead. His silver hair was messy, his skin ghostly pale and his eyes were red and puffy from, what she assumed, crying. 

Quietly she made her way down to the sleeping boy but before she could even touch the floor, she was pinned to a tree by no one else than Kakashi himself. His eyes were still a bit clouded from sleep but the coldness and suppressed hatred in them made Anko shiver in fear. If he looked like this when he was still half asleep then she really didn't want to see what he looked fully awake or fighting.

A quiet scream escaped her when she saw a kunai pointed at her neck. This seemed to wake the dangerous boy up completely since he let her free immediately and took a few steps back. 

"Sorry Anko. Are you hurt?"

Although Kakashi was calm outside, in the inside he was a nervous wrack. Anko had surprised him and his reflexes got the best of him. Being a fighter in the fourth shinobi war had marked him. He was always alert, never sleeping too deeply, not thinking about his next move and only having one ambition: to fight and survive another day.

Anko was still shivering slightly as she shook her head. How did Hatake-san even know her name?

"No, I'm fine Hatake-san. But are you alright? You seem exhausted."

Anko wasn't sure if it was a good idea to ask him and when he tensed slightly she knew it wasn't.

"Sorry.", she whispered feeling uncomfortable. 

"No it's alright. I was just training. By the way, please call me Kakashi or anything but Hatake-san.", answered Kakashi trying to make his past friend a bit more comfortable. 

"Sure thing Kakashi-kun." Anko grinned widely and slowly she regained her confidence. Kakashi was still weird but she wouldn't press on that matter. A thought crossed her mind that made her want to jump in excitement. 

"Say Kakashi-kun, can we be friends?", she asked not knowing what her innocent question did to the boy.

Kakashi felt his heart stop. Friends? With Anko? He was never really close to her before. She was just a teammate from his ANBU squad. 

But he got a second chance to live.

To change things.

To... atone for his failures and mistakes.

Atonement...

He didn't deserve a friend!

He let his previous friends die. What if the Anko died by his hand too? He didn't deserve...

"...kashi-kun, Kakashi-kun. Hello? Somebody home?"

Anko waved her hand in front of Kakashis face although she refrained from touching him. She didn't want a repeat of the earlier events.

"No."

Kakashis answer was cold and blunt and he knew he hurt her with it but he was here for atonement, not to be happy.

"I don't deserve to be your friend. You should stay away from me, it would be better for you. Goodbye Anko."

Kakashi couldn't look her into the eyes and turned around to get out of the forest of death. By now his father had surely realised that he was missing. 

Anko was left dumbfounded and couldn't understand what happened. Sure, she knew that there hadn't be a high chance of her befriending Kakashi but she thought it was because she was the one not deserving his friendship. But instead he had told her he was the one who didn't. She knew that there was a chance that Kakashi had just been polite but she had heard that he was quite arrogant, so why should he? And she also felt as if he was lonely. His walk had been slightly bend as if he was holding a heavy burden. He was a mystery. And this intrigued Anko to no end. Her eyes sparkled. She would get him to be her friend no matter what! Her first friend, she reminded herself.

"Hey, Kakashi-kun wait for me!"

Rin and Obito had found Gai and told him that Kakashi was missing. Gai, shocked that his rival was missing, immediately claimed to find him or run 500 rounds around Konoha and other youthful things that Obito didn't want to remember. 

Kami, he really disliked the green spandex wearing genin.

On their search the three genins met Asuma and Kurenai, who instantly agreed to help. Obito was currently in a heated debate with Asuma and Gai about what ninjutsu was the best when he saw silver hair and shouted: "Hey Bakashi! Stop right now!"

Kakashi, hearing the voice of his best friend, stood like paralysed before getting his emotions under control again. He had mourned their deaths and now he had to move forwards, no matter how hard it might be. Luckily his friends were far enough away to not see his reaction. However, Anko wasn't and she had seen it all. And it made her only more curious. 

"Hey guys. What's up?", asked Kakashi as calm as he could when the others where standing in front of him. But apparently his casual question shocked his friends immensely.

"Rin, I think this isn't our Kakashi, it must be an imposter.", whispered Obito to his teammate. 

Rin slowly nodded, agreeing with Obito. Asuma just stared with an open mouth at Kakashi while holding a pale Kurenai. Gai was the first to break the silence.

"My youthful rival, we were looking for you. Now that we found you, let us have a youthful competition to show whose flames of youth burn the brightest!"

Kakashi smiled inwardly. He had really missed Gais youthful competitions and his positive attitude.

"Yeah sure.How do you want to test our flames of youth?", asked Kakashi forgetting for a moment that in his past he would have just ignored Gais question. 

By now the entire street had gone silent. The villagers couldn't believe what they just heard.

"He's an alien!", whispered Obito. 

Rin and Kurenai had fainted and Asuma was struggling to hold both girls and keep standing from his own shock. Meanwhile Gai imitated a gaping fish. Did his rival just agree to have a competition with him? 

Anko impatiently tapped the ground with her foot. Non of Kakashis friends had acknowledged that she was here too and she felt weird just standing there. Also, she wanted to go eat dango with Kakashi and try to befriend him again.

"Hey Kakashi-kun..." Anko couldn't say more before a screaming Obito interrupted her.

"Bakashi is with a girl? He is an imposter! Get him!"

"What is the meaning of this, kids?", asked Hiruzen confused why there were two unconscious and tied up kids, one of them was the missing Kakashi, and a group of genins in his office. 

"Hokage-sama, we captured Kakashi as ordered. However, we do believe he is an imposter. He was acting rather strange when we found him. He was also in company of this girl.", answered Rin politely. 

"Good job for finding him. Now, do you all agree that Kakashi acted weird?" 

The question was directed more towards his son Asuma, knowing that he was a bit more relaxed then the others when it came to unusual things.

"Yes father!" Asuma nodded repeatedly.

"Old man, Bakashi was accepting a challenge from Gai! And don't forget the girl!" 

Hiruzen decided to ignore Obitos rudeness and instead his eyes slid to the two unconscious children. He paled heavily when realisation hit him.

"Oh for Kami's sake! Untie them immediately. Orochimaru will have my head if there is so much as a scratch on his precious student."

When Orochimaru was mentioned all bickering stopped and Asuma hastily untied the two. Nobody wanted to cross the snake sannin.

As soon as the two were untied, Kakashi began to stir slightly and woke up. Immediately he grabbed the unconscious Anko und jumped to the other side of the room. It was just like in the war! He had been captured and was now surrounded by enemies and his comrade was injured. The ANBUs in the office reacted quickly and surrounded Kakashi who pulled out a kunai to defend himself. When the door to the office flung open and a worried Sakumo followed by Minato and an angry Orochimaru ran inside, Kakashi was brought back to reality and immediately forced his body to relax.

"Son!" 

Sakumo didn't waste time and jumped at his surprised son. Hugging the living day life out of him, Sakumo didn't notice how the hokage send his ANBU away. Orochimaru angrily stood above the unconscious Anko and his look could have murdered someone.

"Who..."

"What..."

"How..."

"Why..."

Everyone began to talk at the same time ignoring their hokage.

"SILENCE!"

It wasn't often that Hiruzen screamed but now he didn't have another choice.

"Okay, now everyone calm down. Sakumo, let go of Kakashi you're chocking him. Orochimaru, stop trying to kill someone. Anko is fine just unconscious."

Hastily everyone followed the hokage orders.

"Kakashi I'm really sorry about the way you were brought here. Your friends sort of over did it." 

Obito sheepishly laughed, he was the one to knock them out. 

Kakashi slightly tensed by the word friend but his face remained as bored as ever and no one saw how his eyes turned slightly darker.

"Hai hokage-sama."

"So, since we're all here, lets start. Kakashi, can you remember anything about yesterday night?"

Shit! Kakashi was hysteric. He couldn't possible tell them he was from the future or a parallel world. He wasn't even how he came here so what should he tell Lord third and everyone else? But Kakashi wouldn't be Kakashi if he couldn't think of a plan in mere seconds. 

So he put his best confused mask on and mumbled absentmindedly: "Not much hokage-sama. I know I woke up in the middle of the night but then everything is very vague."

The hokage nodded approvingly. He had thought as much. Meanwhile, Minato had led the anxious Sakumo to a chair and now listened intently to his student.

"Hmm, that is indeed not much. Kakashi, you woke up crying and sobbing and when your father arrived in your room you started to panic. Apparently you tried to dispel a genjustu. You started to hyperventilate and hurt yourself. Sakumo knocked you unconscious and came here so that Tsunade could heal you. Then in the morning you were nowhere to be found, Kakashi. What happened? Why were you not in your room this morning? Tsunade guessed you had a mental break down.", explained the hokage. 

Inwardly Kakashi panicked until he came to the conclusion that there was just one way out of this misery.

"I had a nightmare."

Everyone looked at him as if he had lost his mind, which was actually a good chance. Or he had spend to much time with Naruto to blur out something like this.

Hiruzen took a moment to digest this information.

"So...you had a nightmare?", he asked unbelieving.

"Hai hokage-sama."

Kakashi forced himself to lower his walls slightly to show his inner tumult and confusion. Everyone took a step back when they saw his eyes. There was so much pain and regret to see! Unintentionally, Hiruzen compared the eyes of the young boy to those of a war veteran.

"Bakashi...", muttered Obito. 

"How come this nightmare affected you so much?"

Kakashi had feared this question. Not because he couldn't answer it, he could just tell a bit from his life, but because he feared to start crying again. 

"It..."

He had to play the part of a scared boy without loosing himself in his own pain.

"It was so real! There was so much blood and... and ... Dad I love you! I NEED you! Please! Please don't leave me alone! Don't leave me."

Kakashis walls broke and a right waterfall of tears began as he flung himself at his father.


	5. Chapter 5

Sakumo started to cry too as he held his shacking son. Kakashis cries reminded him how he would have almost left him alone. He never thought that Kakashi would need him this much, he always appeared so strong and independent.

Kakashis friends were shocked to say the least, the same went for his sensei. Kakashi was always so emotionless and cold and to see him sobbing and crying was making them more than uncomfortable. The hokage was partly glad that Kakashi started to show emotions although it greatly disturbed him to think that all of this was because of a mere nightmare. How horrifying had it have to be to change him so much? 

Without anyone noticing, Anko began to stir and wake up. The first thing that popped into her mind was: why did she has a massive headache? Her head felt like someone had dumped a brick on her! 

At first she couldn't make out more than silhouettes in her surroundings but when her eyes focused more she saw that she was in the hokage office. Lord Third sat behind his desk like usually and looked deep in thoughts. There were also a couple of genins that she remembered as Kakashis friends. Then there was Minato Namikaze and Orochimaru, her father figure. And lastly her gaze focused on a crying silver haired mess that clung onto a man who also couldn't stop his tears. The older man had silver hair too so she figured it was Kakashis father.

"Kakashi-kun.", she said quietly.

After some time Kakashi let go of Sakumo only to hug Obito.

"I am sorry! I'm so sorry!"

Obito didn't know what to do so he just padded Kakashis back awkwardly. Rin fainted at the sight of those two being friendly and Minato almost followed her.

"It's okay Bakashi. It's okay. Now calm down."

It was pointless because Kakashi only started to sob harder. Oh, how long had he yearned to hear these words from Obito. He just couldn't stop crying, it was just like he had feared! He had lost himself in his regrets and pain. How dumb had he been to think that one night was enough to accept his friends death and move forward? 

Everyone stood there helplessly, not knowing how to deal with an emotional Kakashi and they couldn't expect any help from Sakumo soon. 

Anko stood up slowly, her head was still hurting and she was determined that when she found out who knocked her unconscious she would skin him alive, but now she had to look out for Kakashi first. Her friend needed her!

"Kakashi-kun, it's okay. You are safe now."

Everyone looked at Anko. They all had forgotten that she was here too. 

However, Kakashi didn't calm down but latched onto the next person, in this case Gai. 

Anko ignored all the stares and tried to think of a way to stop Kakashi. He was so different to when he was in the forest, so emotional and not cold and rational. She remembered how he attacked her almost as if on autopilot as if he had done it many times before. He had looked like a true shinobi, a warrior, a survivor ... Anko remembered faintly that Orochimaru had once told her that shinobis that had that kind of autopilot would do anything to protect their loved ones. Even if fatally wounded they would fight like crazy. Maybe if... Well, it was definitively worth a shot... She quickly moved behind Minato. 

"Do you have a kunai Namikaze-san? I have an idea to get him back to normal.", she asked quietly.

Minato looked at the purple haired girl calculating. He had absolutely no idea what relationship that girl had to his student but he decided to go with her idea since he really had no other option.

"Here. What's your plan?" The blond jonin gave her a kunai and looked at her expectantly. 

"Sorry Namikaze-san.", she whispered before she held the kunai on Minatos throat in a threatening manner.

Everyone except Kakashi immediately stopped their movements and gave her a look as if she was insane. 

Anko took a deep breath before she loudly proclaimed: "Kakashi, I have Namikaze-san. Come out and fight if you don't want him to be killed."

Obito wanted to scream at the little girl that her idea was dumb and her actions pointless but in the same moment Kakashi was in front of her and Minato, kunai in a hand and in a battle stance. The temperature in the room had dropped drastically and you could almost see the tension surrounding all shinobis. 

"Let him go." 

Kakashis voice was calm but threatening at the same time and it appeared as if he was in another trance. 

Hastily Anko took the kunai down and gave Minato a nudge towards Kakashis destination. As soon as Ankos kunai was lowered, Kakashi pinned her against the wall. Orochimaru wanted to step in but was held back by Hiruzen who wanted to see how this turned out. 

"Kakashi-kun, wake up. It's me, Anko." Anko couldn't help that her voice cracked a bit but apparently it brought the silver haired boy back to his senses. A knowing look was in his eyes but also shock and fear. Before Anko could see more, his eyes became void of emotions once more.

"Sorry Anko.", he said quietly and let her go. 

"Don't worry Kakashi-kun. That's what friends for, ne?", she replied smiling. She was glad to have helped him even though he had scared her a little. 

"Kakashi are you okay?", asked Minato worriedly. 

"Yeah and I'm sorry sensei. That nightmare was just so extreme and it seems as if it still influences me. I promise I won't loose control again.", Kakashi looked at the floor embarrassed. 

"Don't worry, you're not alone.", whispered Anko softly so only Kakashi heared it. 

The hokage took a long drag from his pipe. This was all so very confusing. A prodigy having a nightmare that was so realistic to have shook him to the core. 

"Okay listen up.", said Hiruzen and got the attention of everyone. 

"There is nothing weird about this event. Kakashi had a very realistic nightmare that affected him strongly. The best course of action would be to get back to your daily routines and to not pay too much attention to this. I'm sure Kakashi and Sakumo have a lot to talk about." He gave everyone a pointed look to show that he wanted the father-son duo to have some alone time.

"Oh and Kakashi, if you ever want to talk about that nightmare, please know that I'm always here to listen."

Kakashi looked at his hokage, his inner walls up again. Nothing pointed to the hysterically mess he was a moment before except his red eyes. 

"Thank you hokage-sama." He bowed slightly and then turned to Anko. Quickly, before he could decide differently, he hugged her and whispered in her ear: "I'm in your debt." . Afterwards he hesitantly took his fathers hand and walked out of the office.

A light blush grazed Ankos cheeks and Orochimaru thoughtfully watched the retreating backs of the two Hatakes. He couldn't stop the feeling that Kakashis walk was much heavier and sluggish than Sakumos. It was as if he carried a heavy burden and had seen more than anyone should have ever seen. The snake sannin wasn't sure if he was going insane but he could have sworn, that for a moment he had seen a much older Kakashi that looked as if he had seen the darkest of the dark.

Meanwhile Minato didn't understand what just happened and neither could his students or Kakashis friends. But he figured everything would turn back to normal earlier or later. However, he hoped it'd be earlier rather than later. He really couldn't deal with a crying Kakashi.

"Hey, Dad?", asked Kakashi shyly. Although he had talked to his father after he had died in the fight against Pain, it was still weird to be able to talk to him again while both of them were alive. 

"Yes son?" Sakumo asked tiredly. The white fang was mentally at the end of the rope. The gossip, the disgust in the eyes of other shinobis and now Kakashis nightmare had exhausted him. 

"Do you know how much I love you?", Kakashi looked directly into his fathers eyes.

"I'm sorry I didn't show it to you before but I'm really proud of you that you chose your comrades over the mission. In the ninja world those who break the rules are trash but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash. It took me a while to understand it but now I do. Please don't leave alone, okay?"

Sakumo was dumbfounded. His little boy talked so wisely and his words were so full of pain and it made him feel even worse about his almost suicide. He hugged Kakashi tightly.

"I'm sorry that I almost left you alone.", he said ashamed. 

His words made Kakashi want to cry again but this time out of relief. Unconsciously he had prevented his fathers' suicide for now. 

"It's okay Dad.", muttered Kakashi softly and snuggled closer into his fathers arms.

Sakumo wasn't even surprised that Kakashi kept his calm. It only made him feel guiltier. Kakashis reaction had shown that his young son had been somehow aware of his emotional mess. No child should have to see his parents at this point. 

They walked hand in hand down the street towards their house.

Kakashi could see all the disgusted looks of the people around him and it made him furious. It reminded him of how Naruto had been looked at and of his own weakness.

So when a shinobi dared to walk into his father and made him almost stumble to the ground, he had enough. 

In the blink of an eye, Kakashi was in front of the shinobi and punched him in the jaw. Standing in a protective manner before his father, he glared at the shinobi with his best 'Sasuke'-glare. 

"What the hell? You little brat!", exclaimed the shinobi angry. 

"If you dare to touch my father again or even look at him with a touch of disgust in your eyes, you will have more than just a simple bruise. He is a hero and should be treated like one!", said Kakashi confidently. 

There was no sound in the street and everyone watched curiously the argument between the genin and the shinobi. 

"Kakashi let's go.", said Sakumo pleadingly and tried to pull his son away but Kakashi didn't move.

"Who do you think you are, brat? I think I should teach you some manners but it's no wonder that the brat of the white fang is a little runt." The shinobi smiled arrogantly.

Sakumo wanted to step in but Kakashi was quicker.

"Bring it on but leave my father out of it! You're going down!"

Kakashi didn't know what possessed him in this moment but the urge to protect what's precious to him was too strong and he attacked.

Although he was younger than the shinobi before him, who he estimated at age 20, and his body wasn't as strong as before, he had all of his memories and so it wasn't a big surprise to him to find the rude shinobi at the floor with a broken arm and a couple of bruises.

"Never belittle my father again."

Kakashis posture was that of a warrior and his glare burned holes into the beaten shinobi and everyone around. Without caring about anyone else, he took his fathers hand again and started to walk away. He needed to think, to plan his next move and train his body to his previous form. Never again would he loose one of his precious people! He would train to the brink of death if that was what it took. He needed to become stronger than before, stronger than his father, stronger than Minato and stronger than Naruto and Sasuke combined. He would take down Madara and Zetsu without loosing anyone this time around and he had to do it without his sharingan. He wasn't even sure if he still had it and it was only one of the many things he had to check out.


	6. Chapter 6

It was a couple of hours later, around 2 pm, when Kakashi decided to get out of the house to start his plan. Since they had come back home, the atmosphere between father and son was ... awkward. Sakumo danced around his son as if Kakashi was out of glass and could shatter every moment. And Kakashi wasn't any better. Sometimes he still wondered if this was all real and not just a pigment of his imagination. 

As he walked down the stairs he forced himself to make some noise, it would be suspicious if he could disappear without his father noticing.

As soon as he got to the end of the staircase he shouted : "Dad, I'm going out training. I'll be back around dinnertime, okay? Love you!" , before he ran out of the house without waiting for a response.

Sakumo just saw a flash of silver before the door fell shut. Worriedly he stared in the direction his son had run off to and whispered: "Love you too, son." 

He would have preferred to lock his son up in his room, only to know that Kakashi was safe and he could be protected by the best of Sakumo abilities, but he knew that Kakashi wouldn't sit sill. His son was a fighter. Strong, brave and determined. Sakumo only feared that Kakashi had inherited his determination from his mother. 

Clary had been an incredible woman. Gorgeous, brave and an unwavering determination sometimes. She had been one of the prettiest women in Konoha, only rivalled by the black haired beauty of the Uchiha clan, Uchiha Mikoto and Tsunade Senju. With her long, silky chestnut brown hair and those emerald eyes she had been an image for the gods. 

She had been a civilian and Sakumo remembered delightfully the time where she fought desperately against their love. They had met in the Academy but Clary had soon dropped out of the program and started to learn a civilian job. 

When Sakumo met her again, she was a teacher in a civilian school and taught the children there self-defence. Clary never wanted to fall in love with a shinobi. Her dream was to settle down and have a family, not to live in constant worry if your love will come back to you. Therefore, she had stubbornly tried to deny her feelings. It took a mission where Sakumo had almost died, for her to accept them. He remembered the day as if it was yesterday, when Clary sat next to his hospital bed with tears streaming down her beautiful face. As soon as she realised he was awake she had hit him before pulling him closer and kissing him passionately. She had shouted and cried but in the end they were finally together. 

After a couple of years, Sakumo had finally been brave enough to ask for her hand. Their marriage day had been small, only them, the rest of their families and their closest friends. It was one of the happiest days in Sakumos life, only topped when Clary told him three months later that she was pregnant. Her angelic laughter as he threw her around in happiness was still in his mind and every time he remembered it, he felt like crying. He missed her so much!

Then there was Kakashis birth. He didn't like to remember his wife's screams and cries. The birth had been long and exhausting, but then, after hours, he held his son in his arms. Kakashi had been so tiny and fragile, making Sakumo experience a wave of over protectiveness for his son. However, when he had turned around to smile happily at Clary, he had to watch helplessly as his love laid sickly pale on the hospital bed. She had been drenched in sweat and was obviously in pain but she still managed to smile. Her shaky hands had longed for her son and Sakumo had hurried next to her bed. Clary had kissed her son lovingly before turning to her husband and kissing him too.

"Look Clary. Our child.", Sakumo had whispered proudly.

"Hai. He's beautiful, just like his father. Promise me to be strong, okay Love?", she had replied weakly. 

Meanwhile the doctors were running around but Sakumo only had eyes for his wife. Tears started to run down his face and he asked desperately: "A name. What's his name, Clary?"

And with her last breath the gorgeous woman whispered: "Kakashi."

After that only a loud ringing could be heard throughout the hospital room and Sakumo had clutched his son closer to him and had cried silently. 

It was hard for the single father to look after their son but he always did his best. 

Although Kakashi had become a carbon copy of his father fro his looks, his character was a lot like Clary's. Especially his determination. Whenever Clary had been determined to do something she had done it without caring about herself. It was a dangerous trait to have.

Meanwhile, Kakashi found himself in the deepest part of the Forest of Death. Nobody could know about what he was doing. After he was sure no one else was around, he began to channel chakra into his eye. He didn't expect much but was happily surprised when his Mangekyou sharingan blazed to live. 

This was good. Actually, it was amazing! He could finally control his sharingan at will and it would be his ultimate weapon, only to be used when he was alone and in dire need. There was no logical explanation to why he possessed a sharingan, at least to the people in this timeline. The Uchiha clan would do everything to make him seen as a kekkei genkai thief and execute him.

After this he tried to summon Pakkun but despite his hardest attempts he couldn't. It was like a sword had pierced his heart when he realised that he was really alone in this timeline. His pack, the only family he had known for a long time, wasn't with him anymore. He would have to sign the contract and befriend all of his hounds again. 

Trying to stop the negative thoughts, Kakashi started to check his other skills. His chakra control, genjutsu and ninjutsu skills were the same that they had been when he was this age. ALthough he could remember all the hand signs for various high ranking ninjutsus, his chakra reserves were not large enough to do them. However, his taijutsu skills were pretty much the same as they had been during the war. Unfortunately, due to his height and power it was less destructive. 

Kakashi decided to test his fuinjutsu skills later but now he had to write down his findings. He definitively needed a battle plan! His head had started to hurt too and Kakashi feared that his memories might disappear, so what better way was there than to write everything down in order to clear his mind and see what needed to be changed. Hopefully, his fuinjutsu skills would be enough to make a storage scroll with a blood seal on it.

Kakashi got on his feet's again and squinted his eyes. It was weird to see with both eyes again since he was used to have his headband over his one eye. Before he could dwell in his memories again, he left the training ground to buy storage scrolls and paper. He had a lot to write about after all.

At the same time, Anko searched for the silver haired boy. She wanted to ask him again if they could be friends. Although Kakashi thought he didn't deserve it, she wanted so desperately to be his friend. When she had seen him in the Forest of Death she had been surprised. Kakashi wasn't like all the rumours had said. Instead he was very emotional and hurt. She had seen the loneliness in his eyes and had felt a connection to him. She too was always alone. 

What worried her was that the latest rumours had said, that he had fought a chunnin in order to protect his father. Anko wanted to make sure Kakashi was alright.

As she went around the shopping district of Konoha, she caught a glimpse of silver hair and immediately ran after the person.

"Kakashi-kun!", she shouted loudly.

When Kakashi heard Anko shout his name he was tempted to just carry on his way and ignore her. However he still felt bad about the way he had attacked her so he stopped and waited for the purple haired girl. 

"Hi Kakashi-kun, thanks for waiting.", said Anko smiling. 

"Hmm... so what did you want from me Anko?"

While talkig to Anko, Kakashis hand had automatically searched his side for the small orange book he always carried with him. As soon as he realised what he was doing, he forced his hand to stop and a shadow clouded his eyes.

"Are you busy? We could hang ou!", a wide grin formed on Ankos face in excitement. 

But when Kakashi didn't answer after a while and instead continued to stare at her, she began to feel awkward and added a quiet: "But only if you want to."

It wouldn't be a major surprise for her if he denied.

Meanwhile Kakashi was lost in his memories once again and when he saw the look of hurt and silence acceptance in Ankos eyes, he was painfully remembered of his own student. Naruto had had the same sad and hurt expression when he had been a child.

He gave her a small smile and answered quickly: "yeah sure, Anko. I was just going shopping but if you like you can join me and afterwards we can do something that you'd like." 

Ankos eyes widened in surprised. Kakashi wanted to spent time with her?! Her grin came back almost immediately and she grabbed Kakashis hand in excitement. 

"Where do we have to go? What do you need?"

Her behaviour reminded Kakashi a lot of Naruto and if he was honest with himself, it was really relaxing to have her around.

"I need some storage scrolls, around a dozen ink bottles, a large amount of paper and a new set of kunais and shurikens and maybe a couple of packs of explosion seals."

"I know just the place!", exclaimed Anko happily and dragged Kakashi away.

Two hours later they had finally finished their shopping trip. Anko had brought him to a pretty run down shop and at first he was sceptical but when they entered he found himself in a kingdom out of paper and ink bottles. Anko had laughed at his overwhelmed expression and had dragged him through every corridor until both of their arms were so loaded that they couldn't see over the top anymore. There had been some funny situations where Anko had laughed loudly and Kakashi had smiled slightly. 

Now the two were laying in the Forest of Death, watching the clouds and just enjoying the company of each other.

When the sun began to set, they were still in the forest. However, Anko had fallen asleep with her head on Kakashis chest and her arm dropped around him, almost as if to make sure he didn't leave. But Kakashi didn't even think of leaving or pushing the girl away. He honestly enjoyed having her here with him. It was nice to hear the heartbeat and breath of another living being once more.

During the whole day, Anko had tried her best to cheer him up and although he'd never admit it out loud, she had done a great job on it. 

Seeing her now, so innocent and sweet, Kakashi decided that he would allow one more person to have a place in his war hardened heart. He would have one more precious person he'd give his life away to keep them safe and that was alright. 

Kakashi carefully removed Anko from him only to pick her up in his arms and to slowly walk out of the training ground towards his home. Since he didn't know where Anko lived he had decided that she would sleep in their guestroom. 

When Sakumo opened his front door, he was surprised to see his usually distant son holding a small purple haired girl i his arms. Not only that but the girl was also asleep and cuddling with Kakashi and he didn't seem to be annoyed at all, instead he motioned his father to be quiet. Still in a state of confusion, Sakumo stepped away to let them come inside. Kakashi didn't waste any time and turned towards their guestroom. There he gently put Anko on the bed and tugged her in. Smiling, he left the room to go to speak with his father.

"Hi Dad, Anko is staying over tonight, okay? She fell asleep and I don't know where she lives. You don't mind, do you?", he asked while turning his head slightly to the side.

In his past he would have never asked his father like this, but since he had spent a lot of time with his genin team, he had learned that being adorable was an easy way to get you wanted. And although he was a grown man, he would do what he had to do t succeed, even if it meant to act like a child. The war had taught him this with a painful lesson. an honourable death was still a death after all and they weren't samurais but shinobis. It wasn't beneath them to throw dirt in their opponents eye to gain an advantage.

"That is okay. Did you have a nice day, Kakashi?", asked Sakumo with slight curiosity.He wondered since when Kakashi talked so adorably. 

Kakashi gave his father a close eyed smile. It felt good to have someone waiting at home.

"It was good. I had a lot of fun with Anko. I'm really tired so I'm going to bed, Dad."

As much as Kakashi loved to spent time with his father, he had to start planning his mission. And maybe... just a little bit... he might be scared to get close to him again.

"Okay. Goodnight son.", said Sakumo lovingly.

"Goodnight Dad."

Kakashi was almost out of the room when he stopped. Suddenly he turned around, raced to his father, hugged him and whispered: "I love you Dad.", before racing out of the room again.

Left behind was a gaping Sakumo. For his own sanity sake, he decided against thinking too much about his sons change in behaviour and instead just accepted his more emotional son with a smile.

'He is so strong, Clary.', he thought to his late wife before going to bed.

Meanwhile in Kakashis room, said silver haired boy was pressed against the door, heart racing and tears visible in his eyes. Inwardly he was so scared to lose his father again. He was sure that if something would happen to one of his precious people again, he'd lose the rest of his sanity.

Calming down, he sat down and took out one of the new storage scrolls . Adding a bit of his chakra, he took out a couple of paper sheets and an ink bottle.He would start with writing down every important event taht would happen from now on, starting with the cursed Kannabi bridge mission that would happen in five years until the Juubi attack and Kaguya. Then he would have to do a simple profile of every important person, including their death so he wouldn't lose sight of what to do. Not that he could ever forget the pain that those deaths brought.

After a couple of hours of writing, Kakashi had come to the conclusion that there were six major things he had to do. 

For one, Danzo Shimura had to die as soon as possible. That man meant good but he was poisonous for the village and every one in it. With sorrow, he remembered Sai and how he had to suffer from Danzos' actions. 

Secondly, Orochimaru had to stay in the village and stop his experiments on children or die. He had been a good allie in the war but Kakashi couldn't allow him to go down the same way he had done last time. And if he had to kill the sannin he would without hesitation. 

Thirdly, Yahikos death had to be prevented. Naruto had once told him that Nagato had only started his violent way after the death of his best friend. So if Yahiko survived, there was a high chance that the Akatsuki would never become what they had been in his time line. The other choice would be Nagato's and Konan's death, if he failed to save their friend.

Fourthly, Obito would survive the Kannabi bridge mission. There wasn't much to explain, it was an unwavering must. 

Fiftly, Madara and Zetsu had to be eliminated rather sooner than later. This point didn't need much explanation either. 

And lastly but not least, his generation would have to train. They couldn't afford to be as weak as they were last time. It would take a lot of pressure from Kakashi if he knew that his friends could protect themselves. At least until he was there to kill whoever had made the mistake of attacking his precious people. 

With new determination, Kakashi started to plan a training plan for each of his friends. They wouldn't be unprepared when the third shinobi world war started. Kakashi had known from the start that there was no way he could stop the third war but he could very well change the number of casualties.

The sun was rising when Kakashi made the last ink stroke on the last training plan.He had worked throughout the night without a break. Every other genin would be exhausted but for Kakashi it was nothing. 

In the war he had gone for weeks without any sleep, so he was used to it. And even if he could have slept, he wouldn't have. Staying awake kept his nightmares away. Sakura had often worried about this habit of his but he had never listened to the medic. Sometimes Sasuke had knocked him out just so he could rest for a couple of hours.

Thinking about his nightmares made him feel like drowning, so he quickly opened his window to get on the roof and watch the sunrise. 

Silently, he wondered when the last time was, he had seen such a peaceful sunrise. 

He couldn't remember...

It must have been before everything had gone wrong.

A spike of chakra alerted him that Anko had awaken and was obviously confused to where she was. He decided to get to her room and greet her before the crazy snake lady could destroy his house.


	7. Chapter 7

Not thinking about his next actions, Kakashi opened the guestroom door and walked in. His eyes locked on to Anko before he heard someone scream: "Pervert!" and his sight went black.

Groaning Kakashi opened his eyes again and noticed that he was on the floor and next to him was a pillow. His hand went to touch his hurting head and he looked incredulously at the purple haired girl.

"Holy shit, Anko! Did you just hit me with a pillow?! How much power did you use? You almost knocked me unconscious!", he shouted surprised. 

Meanwhile Anko sat on the bed, blushing like crazy and holding another pillow in front of her.

"You Baka! You're such a perv!, she screamed embarrassed. 

"I'm not a pervert!", defended Kakashi himself and held his hands up surrendering. 

'At least not any more...', he thought.

Ankos face turned an even darker red and shouted at the top of her lungs: "Get out!"

Kakashi hastily got up and scrambled out of the room, quickly shutting the door behind him. Just in time because not a second later something hard hit said door. Sakumo stood in front of his irritated son and laughed loudly. 

"Hahaha! Oh Kakashi, what did you do to the girl?" 

Kakashi looked at his father clueless.

"I just walked in..."

Sakumo laughed even harder and patted his sons head before walking back into the kitchen murmuring something unintelligible to himself. 

When the time traveller realised what he had said, he blushed intensely and could even rival Kushinas hair.

'Oh Kami, I'm so stupid! How could I forget to knock?'

Although Kakashi was already thirty or something, he never did have a lot of contact with females. Of course he had a bit of contact to girls, for example Sakura or Kurenai but none of them had ever stayed over at his house. And what was that Sakura always tried to teach Naruto? Something along the lines of never enter a girls room without knocking? He could faintly remember a couple of beatings that Naruto received because he stormed into Sakuras room uninvited. A small, sad smile graced his face before it went away as quickly as it came. 

After Kakashi got his blushing under control, he knocked timidly at the door and asked hesitantly: "Anko? Can I come in?"

The door opened slowly and Anko stood in the door frame. She averted her gaze embarrassed, unable to look at the face of the boy. 

"I'm sorry. I should have knocked.", apologised Kakashi quickly.

"I-It's fine. I'm sorry that I hit you. Does your head still hurt?"

Anko looked at him worriedly. She felt slightly, no scratch that, immensely insecure. After all, she really wanted to be Kakashis friend and now she had hurt him! Kakashi smiled at her reassuringly. 

"Don't worry about it. It was my fault after all. Anyway, did you sleep okay? I'm sorry but I didn't want to wake you and neither did I know where you lived." 

"Oh." Anko looked at him astounded. "Thank you for letting me stay, I hope I didn't bother you or your dad.", she mumbled shyly. 

"You're not a bother, Anko. I just hope your parents won't be too angry or worried.", said Kakashi quickly. He had honestly no idea who Ankos parents were. The thought had just crossed his mind.

Ankos eyes widened in shock and she shouted: "Oh Kami! Grandma is going to kill me! I should really go. Thank you for letting me stay, Kakashi-kun. I hope we can hang out again sometime."

Kakashi looked at her understandingly and lead her towards the house door. 

"Do you want to hang out this afternoon? I'm going to meet up with my friends and I could introduce you to them." Kakashi was hesitant t ask Anko, not because he didn't want to hang out with her but because he wasn't sure how he'd handle meeting hi other friends. The last time he had seen them, he had cried his eyes out. He didn't know if he could stand seeing them today, but then he had he would probably never be ready. 

Anko looked at him upset.

"Sorry, but Orochimaru-sensei wanted to train me today. It's super seldom that he has time for me. Please, don't think I don't want to meet your friends!"

She clasped her hands together and bowed slightly. 

Kakashi waved her apology off, inwardly relieved. 

"It's okay, Anko. Really. We'll find another day."

"Hai." The purple haired girl went to hug Kakashi quickly before she ran down the street.

Kakashi watched her disappearing figure astounded. Shocked, he shut the door and turned around only to be greeted by his father leaning against a wall and watching him amused.

"So Kakashi, where did the little girl go? Anko, right?", asked Sakumo teasingly.

"She had to go home and yeah, her name is Anko. She's Orochimarus student. Don't remember her? She was with us in the hokage office yesterday."

The silver haired gulped and his eyes widened in shock.

"Orochimarus student?", he asked incredulous.

"Hai.", answered Kakashi. "Didn't you notice them?"

Had his father really been so shocked and worried that he had neglected his shinobi reflexes? 

"No.", murmured Sakumo. "Anyway, let's eat breakfast. I made your favorite, miso soup with egg plant."

Sakumo smiled brightly and walked towards the kitchen. He didn't see Kakashi freeze up or the widening of his eyes or the pain showing on his face. Kakashi was wondering. When was the last time he had a home cooked meal? And his favorite out of all? It must have been before Minato-sensei and Kushina-san died. So,so long ago. 

'Stop it! Don't get overwhelmed!', he thought desperately. but no matter how hard he fought, the memories rained on him and he drowned in them.

~Flashback~

"Hello Kakashi, how are you today?" 

A smiling Minato stood in front of him. Kakashi was in his ANBU clothes and kneed before the hokage.

"I'm good. How can I help, hokage-sama?", he asked, voice void of any emotions. 

"Oh, don't be like this Kakashi. Call me Minato-sensei like you used to.", said the blonde man almost pleadingly.

"Anyway,", a smile was on his face again, "Kushina and I wanted to invite you for dinner. She'll make miso soup with eggplant, your favorite."

"I'm sorry to disappoint but I can't come." 

Kakashi left without looking back at his sensei.

~Flashback end~

Kakashis eyes clouded over and his knees buckled. 

'I'm sorry sensei!', he thought on the verge of crying. 

~Flashback~

"Hey, Kakashi-kun!", called Kushina the young ANBUs name. 

Kakashi walked reluctantly towards her.

"Hello, Kushina-san.", he greeted politely. 

"So, Minato said you couldn't come for dinner tonight." , said the red haired woman sceptically. 

"Hai.", agreed Kakashi monotone. 

"It doesn't matter, you're coming and that is final!", said Kushina smiling. 

Kakashi wanted to disagree but when he saw her red hair starting to flow, he wisely kept his mouth shut.

~Flashback end~

'Kushina-san!'

Tears rolled down Kakashis face as he remembered the kind woman that had treated him like her own son. 

~Flashback~

To third they sat around the table in Minatos dining room. A large bowl of miso soup was on said table and the wonderful smell filled the room. Minato smiled at the awkwardness of his student. Kakashi was still in his ANBU clothes and felt uneasy to sit with the only two people precious to him that were still alive. A light conversation started and a small smile tugged on Kakashis lips. Luckily, neither Minato nor Kushina could see it thanks to his mask, but both of them felt how his stromy and restless chakra became calmer. Kushinas next sentence caught all of his attention. 

"Don't you think Kakashi would make a great babysitter for our child?", she asked sweetly.

Kakashi looked at her bewildered. He a babysitter?

Minato nodded happily.

"You're right Kushina. He would definitively protect our baby."

~Flashback end~

'NO!'

Kakashis gaze fell on his shaking hands and like in his past, all he saw was red. A dark red covered his hands. A whimper escaped his mouth.

'No,no,no...' 

He stormed to the bathroom and hastily held his hands under the burning water. Kakashi didn't feel the pain as the water started to burn his hands, he didn't hear his father knocking on the bathroom door, asking him if he was alright, nor did he realise that his chakra was once more howling and screaming in pain. 

It felt like hours until slowly his senses came back and he could feel the burns. Shocked, Kakashi quickly turned the water off and looked at his hands. There was no red blood on them anymore. Relieved he smiled. Than he frowned. How long had he been in here? Had his father alerted the hokage? He hoped not. He strengthened his senses to find his fathers chakra presence. 

Unfortunately he could sense his father in front of the bathroom door, apparently waiting for the time traveller. Agitated, Kakashi ruffled his hair. He couldn't face his father, at least not yet. A look in the mirror confirmed his fears. He looked insane! There was no way his father would take this situation lightly. Sakumo would drag him to the hokage and what then? Lord Third would ask questions. Questions Kakashi could never answer. So Kakashi did what had he done since he came to this time line. He fled.

Jumping out of the bathroom window and landing silently on the neighbouring roof, he ran towards the training grounds. The Forest of Death was out of the question today since Anko and Orochimaru would be there. 

His legs automatically dragged him to training ground 3. When he came to, a halt fresh tears were streaming down his pain ridden face. It was THEIR training ground. Team 7's. HIS team's! Oh Kami, he missed them! He misses the knucklehead Naruto, he missed Sasukes cold and distant attitude and he missed how Sakura always looked out for them. A sob escaped him. It was the only sound that could be heard and it showed not even a fraction of what Kakashi felt. 

Kami, who thought it was a good idea to send back a man, who wanted nothing more than be together with his precious people, to change the fate of the shinobi world? Kakashi laughed hysterically. It was so easy to write it down, to say he could deal with it. So, so easy. But the truth is, it wasn't. 

It wasn't easy to deal with the flashbacks. The flashbacks that haunted him. That showed him what he had lost and could never get back. No matter what, no matter how similar the people in this time got to his friends, they weren't the same! HE wasn't the same!

It wasn't easy to life with the knowledge of the future. Knowing how much time someone had left. It made him feel like a murderer. He might not be the one to make the fatal hit but he was watching silently. 

A scream cut through the air causing the birds in the trees to fly off. 

Kakashis eyes stayed on a tree stump at the end of the training ground and his eyes clouded over.

~Flashback~

"Why do you train so hard, Sasuke?" 

Kakashi leaned against a tree, his face hidden behind his book but at the same time watching his raven haired student intensely. Sasuke launched a new round of punches,hits and kicks at the tree stump before stopping and catching his breath. The Uchiha didn't look at his sensei as he answered. 

"The pain."

Kakashis eye widened in interest. Sasuke seldom talked about his emotions. 

"Huh?"

"If I stop, the pain gets too much to handle.", replied Sasuke coldly. 

~Flashback end~

It was one of the seldom moments Sasuke had opened up to someone. At the time, Kakashi hadn't known what to say. Sure, he knew the feeling of pain but he had always gone on mission, had tried to bury himself in work or just watched his friends graves silently. Never had he felt a pain like Sasuke had described. But now... Now he could understand him. His body started going though the familiar katas while his mind was blank.

Faster... Stronger... Deadlier...


	8. Chapter 8

Coincidentally a group of young Genins walked pass Training ground 3 and were witnesses of Kakashis brutal training. 

"Hey Asuma, isn't that Bakashi?", asked Obito surprised. He had never seen his silver haired teammate train so vigorously. Actually, he had always thought the silver haired boy didn't train at all. Seeing Kakashi throwing himself into his training made him wonder if he knew him at all. 

Puzzled, Asuma watched Kakashis every move. He wasn't an idiot and knew that this routine was far too advanced for a genin, even if that genin was a prodigy like Kakashi.

"Oh kami, he's going to exhaust and injure himself if he continues.", said Rin worriedly. 

"She's right. Boys, you have to stop him.", agreed Kurenai and looked expectantly at the three boys. 

"His flames of youth burn so bright! But the girls are right, we have to stop him before his youthful flames burn him."

Guy fist bumped into the air excitedly which caused Obito to groan. 

"Okay,lets go.", said Asuma and grabbed the two boys and dragged them after him.

"Kakashi?", asked Asuma whilst trying to hide his insecurity. 

CRASH!

A huge tree was brutally ripped out and thrown across the training ground. The Genins stared at their friend with their mouths wide open.

"Huh?"

Kakashi had known that his friends have been watching him but he couldn't stop fighting. Now that he had released some of his anxiety and fear, he forced a smile on his face again. He didn't want to worry his friends. They didn't deserve to be treated coldly like he had done in the past. Asuma, Kurenai, Guy, Rin and Obito had done everything for him. These five genins deserved to have a good friend and if it meant for him to hide behind a mask, he was willing to pay the price. 

"Hi Guys, how are you?", asked Kakashi smiling.

His friends stared irritated at him. Rin finally opened her mouth and asked frantically: "Are you hurt, Kakashi-kun? It looked like you were training pretty hard!"

She looked worriedly at her teammate but Kakashi waved off her worries easily.

"Nah, I'm fine. But what are you guys doing here?"

"Bakashi, that fight was crazy!", shouted Obito with stars shining in his eyes and totally ignoring his friends' question. Kakashi forced himself to chuckle slightly.

"Thanks Obito."

"Your flames of youth were burning so bright, my eternal rival!", exclaimed Guy excited and did his 'Guy pose'. 

"So, were did you learn this style?", asked Kurenai curiously.

"Yeah, it looked very advanced.", added Asuma thoughtfully. 

"I invented it myself.", answered Kakashi proudly. Or at least he pretended to be proud. His thoughts drifted away to the people that had influenced his taijutsu style.

"You did what?!", asked Obito and Asuma astound. 

"Oh that reminds me. I have something for all of you.", Kakashi tried to be as nonchalant as possible when he took out one of the storage scrolls he had made the night before. Sure, it was a bit risky to carry all of the information with him but as long as he didn't has a safe place for them, his room wasn't an option, they were safest with him. While hidden on his body he could protect them the best. His friends exchanged confused looks as he showed them the storage scroll and he quickly bit his finger to smear a bit of his blood over it. Out came six folders all stuffed with papers.

"Is that a blood seal?", asked Asuma interested. 

Meanwhile Obito was more curious about the folders and tried to get a look at them but in vain.

"Yeah it is. How did you know?",asked Kakashi.

"Oh you know, Dad is the hokage and he likes to talk...", said Asuma and shrugged his shoulders.

"So what is in the folders, Bakashi?", asked Obito impatiently. 

"Oh, those?" Kakashi smirked and waved with the folders.

"Yeah! Come on.", wined Obito and tried to grab one of them.

"Those are training regimes, different taijutsu styles, a couple of ninjutsus, a diet plan etc.", explained the time traveller and noticed happily how the other Genins stared at him in awe. Kakashi laughed loudly and handed a folder to each of his friends, keeping only one black folder in his hand. When no one moved to look through their folder, the silver haired boy scratched his neck embarrassed.

"What?", asked he unsure.

Kurenai was the first one to get out of their frozen state and opened her folder hesitantly. The further she went and the more papers she looked at, the wider got her eyes and then she asked shocked: "What are you? I know you're a prodigy and stuff but this is just amazing!"

Finally, the others began to look through their folder as well and could understand what Kurenai meant. The training regimes were so detailed that even Jounin-senseis would be jealous!

"These are amazing!", exclaimed Asuma and looked puzzled at his friend. 

"Not even the seasoned shinobis could put such folders together. You have everything covered and from the look of it, everything is suited to our personality. Just, how? These must have taken you ages! Just wait until Dad hears of this! He'll want you to make those for everyone!"

At the mention of the hokage Kakashi flinched slightly.

"Could you do me a favour and keep these folders a secret? I don't want to make a training plans for every single shinobi, after all that's the job of their senseis."

His friends nodded understandingly although Asuma assumed it was also because his friend didn't want to catch the attention of the higher ups.

"You really are a prodigy, Bakashi!", said Obito slightly upset. He'd seen Rin's amazed look when Kakashi had handed her her folder and he instantly knew he had no chance against his silver haired teammate. He would never be able to impress Rin like Kakashi did. Obito wasn't a bad shinobi but he wasn't as extraordinary as Kakashi. 

Kakashi picked up at the upset mood of his friend and analysed him secretly. He saw how upset Obito looked, how his posture was sloppy and the sad shimmer in the Uchihas' eyes. Obito looked like Naruto whenever the blonde had thought that Sasuke was so much better than him and that Sakura would never notice him. Kakashi made a mental note to talk to the Uchiha as soon as possible, when Rin started to talk to him again.

"I'm sure they must have taken you a long time , Kakashi-kun. Thanks for sharing them with us."

"Don't mention it and they haven't taken me too long.", 

"Oh my youthful rival, these are one of the most youthfulness ideas I have ever laid my eyes upon. I must try to complete this plan as fast as possible or I will run 200 rounds around Konoha."

Guy had been silent for a long time and had intensely studied the training folders. Many people didn't give him much credit but behind his mask of youth, he was actually quite smart. He had noticed Kakashis changing behaviour and the extraordinary training plans only increased his suspicion. Something had happened to his rival and he wasn't sure if it was for the better nor worse. Only time would show the extent and consequences to this change. 

Meanwhile Rin had latched herself onto Kakashis arm and talked continuously to him. Kakashi wondered if the Rin in his time had been equally annoying and he'd been just too distant to notice or if the slight changes he had done had already influenced the people around him.

"Hey Kakashi-kun, who's the last folder for?", asked Rin and grabbed said folder, waving it around teasingly.

"Oh, that's fro Anko. I wanted to introduce her to you guys today but she was busy training with her sensei.", explained Kakashi and easily took the folder from Rins hands.

"Isn't she the girl we kidnapped with you?", asked Kurenai curiously. As long as she could remember, Kakashi had never shown any interest in any girl. Even Rin and her only got to know him because Rin was his teammate and she herself was friends with Asuma. 

"Orochimaru-sama's student?", asked Asuma astound. 

Kakashi smiled slightly and nodded.

"Yeah, that's her."

Nobody noticed the flash of jealousy crossing Rins face and how her hands balled into fists.

"We should start our youthful training right now, to show you our appreciation to Kakashi with our burning flames of youth!", shouted Guy excitedly.

"Yeah, lets start with running around Konoha to build up our stamina. I think everyone has this exercise in their folder.", agreed Asuma.

Everyone nodded and started the run. Before Obito could follow the others, Kakashi held him back. The Uchiha tried to smile as he asked his teammate:"What's wrong, Bakashi?"

Kakashi looked him over before his dark eyes stared straight into Obitos' and held the Uchiha captive.

"If you can complete your folder as first one, I'm sure Rin would be impressed."

"What are you talking about?", shouted Obito embarrassed and tried to run of but Kakashis hand grabbed his arm and stopped him from doing so. 

"I've see how you look at er and I know you like her. I want to help you to impress her because you're my friend, Obito. This training plan is the perfect opportunity for it. Show her that you are as strong as I believe you are!"

Kakashis voice was full of convection and caused Obito to smile for real this time.

"Thanks Bakashi. The last one catching up to the others is a dobe!", shouted Obito and raced after the others. 

Kakashi remained at the training ground for a minute longer to take a deep breath. It was hard to deal with his friends and act normal the entire time. At least he didn't have to persuade them to follow the training plan. With difficulty, he shut all of his negative thoughts and emotions away and began to jog after his friends. He quickly caught up to them and saw Obito smile victoriously. Fortunately, Obito didn't say anything and was instead busy to impress Rin, who was running next to him. 

Together the Genins continued to run around until they came across the Forest of Death where Anko and Orochimaru trained. Kakashi noticed them a long time ago and analysed Orochimaru from far away whilst his friends run clueless around. The snake Sannin was good. Kakashi hated to admit it. Although he only showed a fraction of his powers against Anko, Kakashi could see that this times Orochimaru was strong but not as strong a he was while Kakashi had to fight him. Finally, Anko noticed the other kids and Kakashi and waved excitedly.

"Kakashi-kun!", she shouted happily.

Everybody stopped and looked at her. A small smile grazed Kakashis face automatically and he could breath a little easier. 

"Hi Anko, I hope we haven't interrupt your training?",

"No, no of course not. Right, sensei?" , said Anko slightly blushing and turned expectantly to Orochimaru, who looked warily at the silver haired boy.

"Actually you are in deed interrupting, Hatake.", he snarled and and noticed surprisingly how the boy flinched at the mention of his surname although he hid it very well. 

'Interesting.', thought the Sannin intrigued.

"My apology, Orochimaru.", apologised Kakashi politely. "We just came here by accident and will be leaving immediately. But before that I have something for you, Anko."

Kakashi pulled out the last folder and held it towards her whilst glancing warily at Orochimaru. 

"What's this?", asked Anko and took the folder and looked through it eagerly. 

"Wow, that's amazing!"

After Ankos amazed exclamation, Orochimaru decided to glance over his students shoulder to get a look at the content of the folder and was surprised to see and amazingly detailed training plan for his student.

"Did you do this, Hatake?"

Kakashi gritted his teeth in annoyance. He never wanted Orochimaru to find out about his plan to train the other Genins. Afterwards he realised how naive his wish had been, since the Sannin would have found out about it as soon as Anko started to rapidly increase in his training sessions. It didn't help that he was idiotic enough to hand her the folder whilst Orochimaru stood right behind her.

"Yes I did."

"Hmm, on another thought, Anko you should train with young Hatatke from now on.", said Orochimaru thoughtfully.


	9. Chapter 9

It had been two weeks since the day Kakashi met Anko and Orochimaru at the training ground. Since then the seven genins had started a daily routine where they would train with their senseis in the morning and train together in the afternoon.During that time Anko had become a good friend to the other genins except for Rin. The brunette always sneered at her and tried to make her look pathetic. Nonetheless, Kakashi had quickly become close to Anko, perhaps even closer than to his other friends. It might have been because whenever he looked at one of his old friends he only saw a dead person whereas with Anko he could feel something else than constant pain and anxiety. Whatever it was that let him breath easier whenever the younger girl was around, he was grateful for it and consciously sought out her presence.

Even though Kakashis' friends grew stronger day for day, not everything was good.

When he had gone back after he had fled his home, his father hadn't tried to talk with him about his disappearance. Although Kakashi was grateful for it, because he had honestly no clue how to explain why he had fled through the bathroom window, it only caused him to be more anxious. His father was an amazing shinobi and there was no way he would just accept Kakashis weird behavior without being at least a bit wary. It went against everything that made a shinobi, like looking underneath the underneath. 

Another thing or to be more accurate another person who strained Kakashis nerves was Orochimaru. Since the Sannin had seen the training plans he had made for his friends, he was always lurking around, carrying a notebook with him and watching the time traveler closely. It drove the silver haired boy crazy! Wherever he went the Snake Sannin would be there too, so he had to watch his actions even more. It wasn't such a big deal if he slipped up or had a small flashback when he was with the other genins, they were children after all and would dismiss it quickly if he stared into space, but Orochimaru and his father would easily see the dark emotions he could hardly hide when he had a flashback and span a crazy theory out of it. And honestly, the last thing Kakashi needed was someone else knowing about his time travelling. 

And then there were his nightmares. No matter what he did the memories of the war would always appear in his dreams. Kakashi would wake up drenched in sweat, trembling in fear with bloodshot eyes and a silent scream on his lips. Hence he refrained from falling asleep. It wasn't that much of a problem to him since he could only train in the night anyway thanks to Orochimaru always being around. But lacking sleep was dangerous for a shinobi and the time traveler knew that far too well. During the war he had seen what happened to the shinobis that where haunted by the terrors too. The senses of those men, women and often times even children had went into overdrive and the smallest sound would cause a deathly reaction. Although they were beasts while fighting, and Kami knows that the world had needed their strength to survive for how long they did, these people were nothing more than broken souls. They fought in a different world, not able to differentiate between friend and foe and at some point their bodies just broke down. To prolong the effects of his insomnia Kakashi had started to steal soldier pills from the Inuzuka compound and was basically living from them. He knew the effects they would have on his young body but he couldn't stop. It was like a drug and it was slowly killing him. 

He was alone in this world.

Kakashi knew how to deal with the loss of loved ones but this time he didn't have Minato or his friends to help him stay strong. He often felt lifeless and exhausted as if some higher up being enjoyed his suffering. 

Today was one of the days where Kakashi felt tired. A tiredness that couldn't be solved with sleep. The time traveler was tired of his new life, He felt caged. He knew his responsibilities to this world , he knew what he had to do but sometimes ... sometimes he wondered if he could do it or if it was smarter to ... maybe ... just give up and let someone else handle this world. After all, Kakashi was only human too. But then he thought of what the knowledge of the future would do to the other person and he couldn't do it anymore. So he forced himself through those two weeks, keeping up a happy facade and only letting his mask slide in the middle of the night when he was sure he was alone. 

What Kakashi didn't know was that his secret training sessions were not particular secret as he thought. 

Sakumo had watched his son closely and obviously had noticed the training sessions one day. He just couldn't figure out why his son, his beautiful and young child, would train to the point of exhaustion every night. The man had always been proud of the strong bond he had had with Kakashi but currently the boy was like a stranger to him. 

Where was the boy that held his hand when they would walk through Konoha? Kakashi still held his hand but nowadays Sakumo had the feeling it was as if his son was scared that he would disappear if he didn't hold on to him. No longer did he hold him because of love but because he was scared, perhaps even terrified. At least that was what Sakumo guessed. The White Fang had no idea how close his guess was to the truth.

Sakumo had reached a point where he didn't know what to do anymore so he had decided to get help from the unlikeliest person. Anko Mitarashi. The girl was younger than Kakashi himself but she was currently the closest person to the boy. So he had decided to show Anko what Kakashi did every night. 

"He has been training like this for the last two weeks and I'm worried about him, Anko.", said Sakumo frowning. "He always pretends to be okay but I know my son better than that. Something is bothering him but I don't know what."

Anko was also frowning as she watched Kakashi go through various katas.

"I see what you mean, Hatake-san. He looks ready to drop dead."

Sakumo looked cautiously at the girl. From all of Kakashis friends he hadn't expected his newest to see so easily through his sons' mask.

"Tell me, Anko, you spend most of the day with him, right? Is he eating? Every time he comes home, he would say that he has eaten with his friends already but I can't believe him. He has lost so much weight but he tires to hide it."

Realization dawned at Anko and she sorrowful shook her head and whispered: "No. He always says he'd eat with you, Hatake-san."

Suddenly Sakumo appeared so much older and Anko could finally see how much he was effected by all of this.

"... I thought so ..."

The rest of the night the two spend silently watching Kakashi. 

When dawn arrived Anko got up and said quietly: "I'll look after him, Hatake-san." before she left.

Sakumo stayed in the same place for a couple of minutes longer, letting the sight of his son burn into his memories before leaving as well so he'd be home before Kakashi. 

Like every other day, Kakashi waited until his father had left the house for a mission before he walked out of his room to see his friends. Quickly, he walked towards Training ground 3 where he'd meet his friends. Almost there, he suddenly had to lean against a wall to keep standing. His vision got blurry and a shrill noise rang in his ears. His breathing quickened and he felt dizzy. 

'Not now!'

He forced himself to stand up again and continue walking. He couldn't afford to show weakness. Not now, not ever! Still a bit shaky he arrived at the training ground and got greeted by all of his friends.

"Hi Kakashi-kun, how are you today?", asked Rin smiling and latched onto Kakashis arm.

The sudden extra weight made it even harder for Kakashi to keep standing. "I'm fine.", said he and and gave her the same fake happy smile Naruto had used for most of his life. 

Kakashi could feel someone staring at him and when he secretly looked around, he found Anko looking at him with worry in her eyes.

"Should we start training?",asked he in a desperate attempt to change Ankos focus. 

Everyone agreed and separated to do their individual training, giving Kakashi the space he needed. Having Rin leaning against him had made his headache worse and black dots had clouded his vision. But he couldn't afford to break down in front of everyone!

"Hey Kakashi! Can you help me for a moment?", shouted Guy across the training ground. 

"Yeah, I'm coming!"

Taking a deep breath, Kakashi shut all of his fears and doubts out and put his mask back in place. Pretending to be okay he walked over to his friend.

"Whereby do you need my help?", asked he politely and received a large grin from Guy.

"Can you look over my taijutsu style? It was your idea after all and it would be good to have you point out any weaknesses."

The simple question caused pain to shot through Kakashis heart. After all, he hadn't been the one to invent this particular style. It was Guys and he only gave it to this times Guy to help him get stronger far sooner than last time.

"Yeah sure, but I'm not perfect with this style. It was only a rough idea but I think you can perfect it."

Guy gave him one of his sparkling smiles again before starting to go through the style. As he watched the spandex-wearing Genin, Kakashi couldn't stop seeing the Guy from his time in the young boy. There was the same determination and happiness in his eyes and it hurt to see it. Kakashi couldn't stand the sight of him. With every move Guy perfected, the pain increased tremendously. The time traveler wanted nothing more than to flee. To just get away from this boy that resembled his dear friend so much. But he couldn't. He needed to stay so he forced himself to forget. All of the precious memories with his rival were pushed into the farthest corner of his mind. He was a shinobi. He didn't feel and he needed to endure. Keeping the pain out of his voice he started to correct some of Guys moves. 

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Asuma fighting Obito and suddenly his mind went numb. Asuma had just used the same move that Zetsu had used to kill Obito and this time Obito lay on the floor laughing his ass of. Kakashi no longer saw the two Genins but instead Zetsus horrendous smirk and he started to shake. Hands on his head as if trying to stop the memories from coming, he shouted angrily: "Stop goofing around, Obito!"

Now he was the center of attention and had to endure the stares of his friends. He felt his panic rising and the feeling that he was judged increased. 

Obito rolled his eyes annoyed and shouted back: "Shut up Bakashi! We all know you only do these training sessions so you can show how superior you are!"

Suddenly all of Kakashis anger disappeared and left behind was a feeling of emptiness. He looked incredulously at Obito before his gaze wandered to each of his other friends. All of them looked down at the floor, all except Anko who met his searching gaze stubbornly showing him that she didn't think so. Realization hit the silver haired boy like a brick and slowly the last bit of light left his dark eyes. 

"D-Do you all think I only do this for me?", his voice was timid and he fought hard against the urge to burst into tears.

"Well..."

"You see..."

"It's just..."

His 'friends' couldn't bear to look him into the eyes and instead stuttered some incoherent answers. 

"Did you?", asked the time traveler again, praying inwardly that this was all just a nightmare. 

Reluctantly, Asuma stepped forward and stared straight into Kakashis eyes. He flinched visibly at the desperateness and hopelessness mirrored in the dark eyes of his friend. 

"Yes. The thought that you do all of this, the folders and the training, only to show off has crossed all of our minds. But you have to understand, Kakashi, you ..."

Hurt, Kakashi closed his eyes for a moment. How naive could he have been?! For a long time he had forgotten that these people might look identical to his friends, but didn't know him like he knew them.When he opened his eyes again, there was no emotion visible in them. They were just two meaningless pitch black orbs in the face of a young boy. 

"I did this to prepare you. To help you. All of you are precious to me and I can't bear to loose any one of you."

His empty eyes roamed once more over the shocked faces of his 'friends' before he shunshinned away. He couldn't stand the sight of them any longer. 

Left behind was a group of shocked Genins. Well, one of them was rather furious than shocked. 

"Are you happy now?", asked Anko with venom in her voice. 

"I didn't know!", murmured Obito and looked like a kicked puppy. The girls were in tears whilst the boys could only stare where Kakashi had stood a second ago.

"Of course you didn't!", snarled Anko. "It's not like Kakashi has shown way more emotions over the last two weeks. It's not like you were there when he had that horrifying nightmare. It's not like he had hugged you in the hokage office and was practically begging for your forgiveness. You're his best friend, Uchiha! How could you not see? And how could all of you accuse him of doing this for his own advantage? You are horrible! Every single one of you!"

Anko didn't care if she hurt any of them with her words. They had hurt her only friend way more than they realized. Furiously, she left the training ground to look for Kakashi.

"Why did you tell him?", asked Rin crying.

Asuma didn't look at her or anyone else. 

"He deserved to know."

"NO!", screamed Rin. "He'll hate us!"

She slapped him across the face before Obito could stop her. Finally, Asuma looked her into the eyes. Tears were streaming down his face and he looked at her grief striking. 

"Good. We deserve it. We are horrible friends and didn't even notice how sick he was. I overheard Anko muttering that Kakashi hasn't eaten in two weeks. Did you know?!"

Rin looked at him shocked.

"N-No."

"In that case, can we even call us his friends?"

And as if Asumas question was the signal, a thunderstorm started.

Meanwhile, Anko searched everywhere for Kakashi. She couldn't believe what the others did. After a while she had looked everywhere but without luck. Kakashi hadn't been in the Forest of Death nor was he at home or anywhere else in the village. There was only one place Anko hadn't looked yet and she hoped desperately that her friend was there. 

The graveyard for the fallen shinobi. 

Quietly she walked into the place and looked over all the graces. At the far end in front of the memorial stone stood a dark figure. Through the rain it was hard to see who it was exactly but Anko already knew. She walked quickly to the lone person. There, she slowly hugged Kakashi. She could feel his rapid and uneven breathing and how his body was shaking. 

"This place makes me think about the mistakes I've made in the past... and I've made so many of them." 

Once more, Anko was surprised by the wisdom and depth of Kakashis words. He didn't act like a seven year child at all but she didn't care at the moment. Right now she just gently wiped the silent tears from his face and hugged him tighter. 

"It's going to be okay."


	10. Chapter 10

"Sakumo! Sakumo! Open that god damned door!"

A loud crash was heard and the door broke into two pieces. In front of the disaster stood Minato with his hand still up to knock again and embarrassment clearly visible on his face. Not a second later Sakumo walked out of the living room, shocked and disturbed by the sight before him.

"Minato.", he said drily. "What has happened to my door?"

"Well... Uh-uh...", the blonde Jounin rubbed his neck embarrassed. "Sorry. I'll fix it."

"I sure hope so. Now, what was so important that you had to break down my door?", the older Jounin tried hard to hold back a smirk. It was just so hilarious to see Minato Namikaze embarrassed. The young man was far to serious for his age. 

Apparently, his question had remembered the blonde for the reason he was here to begin with because his face immediately darkened and he pointed accusingly at the older man.

"Kakashi!"

As soon as his sons name fell, an interested sparkle appeared in Sakumos eyes. It was totally out of character for Minato to be anything else than calm but currently the Jounin was at a point were he didn't know any further and his frustration turned into annoyance. 

"What is going on with your son? Since his break down a couple of weeks ago he has had incredible mood swings! One day he is so open minded and hangs out with his friends and I think he has finally opened up to us and the next day he skips training and ignores everyone except that little girl. The team dynamics are in ruins! There is absolutely no sign of teamwork whats so ever! Honestly there wasn't much to begin with but now there is nothing, absolute nothing! It is horrendous! Rin appears to always be at the brink of crying and Obito is not even joking around anymore! Neither of them can speak to Kakashi more than a couple of sentences and your son can't even look at them. I want to know what is going on! Did you train with him again against Tsunade-san's advise? Is that the reason why he is so reserved?", the blonde ranted angrily.

Minato wasn't really angry with Sakumo but rather with himself. He felt so ... powerless. His team broke further apart each day and he couldn't do anything against it. 

Sakumo had listened calmly to Minatos rant, knowing that the man just needed someone to vent on, but his last remark made him pissed. How could Minato think he'd do something to endanger or hurt his son? That was something the Jounin couldn't take silently.

"Minato.", he said with a threatening tone. "I haven't trained with my son since that day."

Minato flinched slightly at the cold tone and looked guiltily away.

"Sorry."

"I don't know what is going on in Kakashis head. Trust me when I say I wish I did."

Minato watched sorrowful as the silver haired man aged visibly from the constant worry about his son. 

"He has gotten so thin.", Minato murmured upset. "He doesn't talk to me anymore and I ... I feel like I let him down! Whenever he is around I have the strong urge to just simply hug him and tell him everything is going to be okay. But he flinches and tenses by the slightest contact."

Without hesitation, Sakumo walked away and came back with a bottle of sake. 

"Sit down Minato.", the older Jounin said and pointed at his couch. 

Without care, Minato just fell down and leaned back exhausted. Sakumo held a glass of sake in front of the blonde which he immediately grabbed and emptied in one go. 

"I understand your worry.", Sakumo said and nipped on his sake. "I too have this urge. Kakashi is my son, Minato. He's the legacy of my dear Clary and I would sacrifice everything to keep him safe. But nowadays I can't see my precious child anymore. Whenever I look at him I see a pained and shattered soul. As a parent you never want to see your child with eyes that appear to have seen so much hardship, so much pain and suffering that it is incomprehensible that they are still breathing and fighting. So if anyone let him down, it was me. I failed at protecting my son."

Whilst Sakumo talked about his sorrow, Minato had grabbed the sake bottle and continued to down one glass after another.

"Where is he anyway? Shouldn't he be home already? It's almost 10pm?", Minato asked worriedly.

This time it was the silver haired Jounin who grabbed the sake bottle and downed another glass.

Sluggishly he murmured: "He's training."

"What?", the blonde stopped drinking for a moment waiting for the other man to elaborate.

"He comes home, goes to bed and climbs out of the window as soon as he thinks I'm asleep. Then he trains throughout the entire night like a mad man, comes back by dawn, tells me a 'Good morning' and leaves the house to train again. He doesn't even eat breakfast!"

There was a moment of silence in which both shinobis followed their own thoughts before both simultaneously grabbed their glasses firmly and downed them again.

At the same time Kakashi had finally reached the point where his body wouldn't move anymore, regardless of the soldier pill. Hence, he laid on the ground, breathing harshly and watching the beautiful night sky. He could hear someone walking towards him but the familiar chakra presence quickly undermined the urge to get into his battle stance.

Quietly, Anko sat down and laid Kakashis head gently on her lap. Her fingers run soothingly through the soft silver hair and soon Kakashi drifted of into the darkness for the first time in a long while.

"What?!" 

Kakashi stood shocked before Tsunade.

"Rockies? After Sasuke?", he asked her incredulously. 

'Is she purposely trying to kill them?!'

"I had no choice. You know how things are. I did all I could to give them a decent chance of success.", Tsunade said calmly.

'No you did not! You send them to their early death. Sasuke is currently way over their league. Gai's prodigy, the hyuuga, might be able to hold him down but then there is the fact that Sasuke has Orochimarus curse mark so he's way stronger than the hyuuga. Naruto might measure up against his strength but he sees Sasuke as his friend and won't hurt him. And not to forget, it is highly likely that Sasuke is accompanied by Orochimarus followers.'

Kakashi wanted to scream at the ignorant woman but she was still his hokage and deserved respect. Without wasting anymore time, he got ready to leave. It was so hard to walk out calmly when he wanted nothing more than to jump straight out of the window and race after his students. But nobody could find out how much the children had grown on him. Anyone he let ever get close to him ended up dead after all. 

"Now hold on! You've already got your next mission.", shouted Tsunade after him and waved a S-rank mission scroll.

"Yeah, well... I'll be back. Don't worry yourself."

Determined he left the hokage tower. Outside, he quickly summoned his pack.

"Scatter like the wind. Locate the scents of Naruto and Sasuke. The moment you're sure you've tracked them, call out. I'll be there. Now! Scatter!"

Immediately his pack scattered to follow his orders. Meanwhile Kakashi remembered lively the scene on the hospital roof. 

'I was naive. They...They really could kill each other...'

Kakashi looked glumly and the worry was clearly carved into his face.

"WAOOOOOU!"

'Right on like always, Paku. Please, just let me make it in time!'

The Jounin quickly left the village followed by his pack. Suddenly it started to rain and the longer they took, the more Kakashi worried. 

"It's raining ... Can you still hold the scent?", he asked anxiously. 

Paku felt the increasing anxiety of his summoner and was glad to give him positive news.

"We're okay. Really close... This way!"

Together they jumped down a cliff but by the sight they were greeted with, Kakashi wished... Yeah, what did he wish? To be in Narutos place instead? To be faster? To have never taken on a genin team? Probably. Like always he was ...

'Too late...'

His precious student laid lifeless at the ground, a damaged hitai-ate next to him.

"Why... did this have to happen?"

His tears mixed with the rain and Kakashi was thankful for it. 

'Why me? Why is it ALWAYS me?'

"...kashi! Kakashi-kun! Wake up!"

Kakashis body got shaken urgently and he awoke startled. He quickly sat up and searched for what ever danger had caused him to wake up. When he didn't find something he turned his attention towards Anko and froze in his movements. The purple haired girl was crying silently and her body was shacking. Helplessly, Kakashi watched as his friend cried before he hesitantly leaned forward to gently wipe her tears away.

"Shh... Anko... Shh... What's wrong?"

Instead of answering, the girl clang to him for dear life and continued to cry into the older boys chest. Startled, Kakashi remained motionless before slowly putting his arms around the distraught girl.

"Y-You wouldn't wake up!", sobbed Anko scared. "You were shacking and sweating and tossing around but you wouldn't wake up! And I was so scared!"

"Anko..."

"And then you were screaming! You were shouting for someone called Naruto and Sasuke. And you always mumbled 'Please don't let me be too late' or something similar. And in the end you were c-crying! And I-I..." Anko tightened her grip around the silver haired boy as f she was afraid he'd disappear.

"Shh, Anko, it's okay. It was nothing. Don't worry about it. I'm fine now."

Kakashi remembered that Kushina used to gently pat his hair to sooth him whenever he let her see his vulnerable state, so now he tried to copy her. He gently patted the younger girl's hair and felt her calming down. Slowly Anko stopped crying but never the less kept her grip around Kakashi. 

"Thank you for being her.", whispered Kakashi so quietly that Anko wasn't sure if she had imagined it or not. 

"It is adorable and all but I need to talk to Kakashi ... now."

A gruff voice interrupted the private moment shared between the two and caused both kids to flinch and separate. 

Kakashi hadn't even felt the chakra presence of another person!

"Sensei!", exclaimed Anko embarrassed when she realised it was Orochimaru that had found them.

Kakashi automatically moved in front of Anko as he watched the Snake Sannin's every move tensely.

"What do you need?", Kakashi asked warily.

The Sannin gave him a knowing look and replied: "Not here. Come."

Against his better judgement, Kakashi got up and walked to the Sannin. He looked apologetically at Anko. 

"Please go home Anko. I'll see you later, okay?"

Still a little bit flustered, Anko nodded and watched in awe as her sensei grabbed Kakashis shoulder and shunshinned away.

As soon as the two appeared in a clearing outside of Konoha, Kakashi jumped away to bring distance between himself and the Sannin. Obviously, this wasn't the same Orochimaru that had caused him and his precious people a lot of suffering but he couldn't be cautious enough. 

"What do you want?", he snarled. 

Orochimaru put his hands up in a surrendering manner and answered: "Relax. I'm not here to fight you, i just want answers. Tell me... who are you really?!"

Kakashi chose his next words carefully. The Snake Sannin wasn't known as a genius and the smartest of the three Sannins for nothing.

"What do you mean? I am Kakashi Hatake.", he answered whilst his hand secretly searched for the small kunai hidden in his shirt. 

"I know. But it doesn't make sense."

To prove his point the Sannin threw a notebook to Kakashi, which he easily caught. Warily he looked at Orochimaru before opening said notebook. 

With each side more colour drained from Kakashis face and as he saw the last entry circled with a red highlighter and the word 'TIME TRAVELLER' in capital letters, he threw the book away as if he'd gotten burned.

Meanwhile Orochimaru had taken careful note of Kakashis reaction and was satisfied with the results.

When Kakashi saw the smirk on the Sannins face, he panicked. 

That was his only excuse for the next events, as his Mangekyou Sharingan appeared, caught Orochimaru in a genjutsu and successfully knocking the Sannin out.

Kakashi nervously paced back and forth. His actions had just endangered his whole mission even more! He blamed it on Naruto. It was definitely his students' influence that had caused him to catch Orochimaru of the Sannin in a genjutsu. And if that wasn't bad enough, Kakashi had somehow used this genjutsu to show Orochimaru his memories. Starting by his father's suicide and until the end of the fourth shinobi world war and end of humanity by his own suicide. It was idiotic and stupid and dumb and ... something totally Naruto-like. Now Orochimaru would surely know that he was a time traveller and kami knows, what the Sannin would do with the knowledge he had gained from this genjutsu!

A quiet groan showed him that Orochimaru was finally waking up. 

"Bloody Hatake! Didn't have to knock me out!", muttered Orochimaru drowsily. 

When his vision cleared, he could finally see the cause of his headache pacing back and forth. 

"So, you're a time traveller?"

As soon as the question had left Orochimarus mouth, he felt incredible stupid. Of course the boy was a time traveller! He had just shown him his entire memories of the past. The look that the time traveller gave him, showed him that the boy found the question ridiculously stupid. 

"That explains everything.", said Orochimaru more towards himself than to Kakashi. 

"Why would you show me, Kakashi?", Orochimaru asked seriously. "I've been your enemy for decades and could have used this knowledge easily against you. Why not Minato or your father?"

Kakashi looked at the Sannin with pure pain in his eyes. 

His voice was hoarse as he answered: "You were our ally in the war. I know you better than you know yourself and could easily take you out."

The boy glanced up in the night sky before continuing.

"I-I wouldn't be able to look them into the eyes if they knew. I've made so many mistakes in my live. They would be disgusted and ashamed by what I've done and became. I've been an emotionless monster. I killed merciless, men women, children, no difference. I've let everyone down. I've neglected my senseis son, I've ignored everything my father stood for. They ... They can never know."

Orochimaru watched the silver haired boy thoughtfully. He couldn't see why Minato or Sakumo would be disappointed in the boy. In his eyes, the boy was nothing short of a hero. Not the typically hero that saved everyone, but a hero that never gave up. Kakashi had lost everything he held dear and was still standing. There weren't many like Kakashi. Even after he had died, he'd chosen to fight for this time line in hope of a better future. The boy could have just killed himself again and honestly, Orochimaru wouldn't have judged him, not after everything he'd went through. 

It must be painful to live with people that you've seen die. If Orochimaru would have been in Kakashis place, perhaps, he might have chosen the easy way out. But through all of that, he could relate with the time traveller's fears. He too, wouldn't be able to look at his sensei or team mates if they ever found out what he'd been in another time. He didn't know what had happened to him to turn him into that psycho Kakashi had known. That life, if you could even call it that, he lived wasn't worth the sacrifices he'd made. He could see that now. 

"If you ever need help, I'm here."

The look in Kakashis eyes showed Orochimaru that it was in deed the right thing to say. The time traveller needed at least one person in this time that would have his back unquestionably.

"so what are you planning on doing now?", Orochimaru asked curiously.

Kakashi sighed tiredly. That was a something he had wondered too.

"I don't know. The third shinobi world war is approximately three years away and I really want to reduce the number of casualties this time around. I just don't know how. The war started with skirmishes with smaller nations along our boarders and only later developed it into a all out war. It would be easy if we'd have another army but the Uzumakis are already destroyed. And even if we have an amazing strategy our forces won't be enough to quickly end the war."

The Sannin thought for a moment until he got an idea. It was risky and stupid and if he hadn't seen Kakashis memories he'd doubted it would work. 

"How strong are you exactly, Kakashi?"

Kakashi had a knowing sparkle in his yes as he smirked.

"In the past? Strong enough to be the Rokudaime hokage. Right now? Strong enough to beat a Sannin. In three years? I'll be back to my old strength and it will be enough to take on an entire army. But Lord Third would never allow me to fight at the front rows."

Orochimaru frowned as he realised that the boy was right. Hiruzen would never allow a child into the heart of a war, not if he had another choice. 

"Don't worry about it. I'll get you where you need to be.", said the Sannin determined.

"Partner?"

Smiling, Kakashi held his hand out, which Orochimaru gladly accepted.

"Partner."


	11. Chapter 11

~ Time skip: a couple of months later ~

Once again, Kakashi found himself at training ground 3, practicing his taijutsu. More precisely, he was kicking and punching a tree in a desperate attempt to release his build up emotions. 

Usually, if he felt like drowning he'd find Orochimaru or Anko. Sometimes even his father, if only to make sure he was still alive. Despite the fact that Orochimaru had been his enemy, the Sannin could be surprisingly understanding. Kakashi could talk to him about what was going on and he didn't have to hide himself. And Anko always managed to make him smile. 

But today neither of the two were around. Orochimaru had gone on a mission and was only expected back in three days and Anko was sick with the flue. So there was no one to stop his thoughts from consuming him. This all led up to him releasing his emotions on a tree. 

Kakashi didn't feel anything when he continued his assault. He didn't feel the pain from his bleeding fists, nor the growing headache that caused his vision to flicker. All he was consumed by was the urge to go on. Black dots clouded his vision and his movements became sluggish and slow. 

Suddenly, his body felt like it was on fire and he let out a strangled cry. His hands were searching frantically for something to hold on as his body swayed and his legs wouldn't carry his weight any longer. With a last pained cry, Kakashi could no longer hold on to his conscious and was forced into the blackness that only held nightmares and terrors for him.

~Flashback~

Kakashi woke up panting. Outside was a thunderstorm and something caused him to awake startled. He was actually quiet happy that he'd woken up because usually, whenever there was a thunderstorm he'd stay up with his father watching the beautiful nature play. It was their special thing.

Kakashi had always had an unusual attachment to lightning and thunder. Whenever someone asked his Dad about his weird attachment, Sakumo would smile and always reply with: "He doesn't fear the thunderstorm because he is the thunderclouds.". 

Kakashi smiled brightly when he heard the thunder outside and the wind howling. 

'Maybe Dad is still asleep. I should wake him.', thought the young boy excited. and walked quietly to his fathers room. 

He knocked loudly on the wooden door but when he didn't get an answer he hesitantly pushed the door open.

"Dad? Are you still sleeping?", Kakashi asked whispering. 

When there was still no answer, he walked inside the dark room.

"Dad?", he whispered.

The thunderstorm had grown in strength and the whole house was shaking. Kakashi really wanted to be in his fathers arms right now. Lightning lit up the dark room and gave sight of a body laying still in the middle of the room. Startled, Kakashi stumbled back a few steps. He was sure he had seen something ted next to the body when the lightning had lightened the room. 

"Dad?", he asked scared.

However, there was no response but a deafening silence. When the next lightning hit, the boy hurried towards the body of his father. He anxiously searched for a pulse but when he couldn't find one his rational side lost the fight against his emotions and he wildly shook the lifeless body whilst crying out for his father. His pleas and cries were accompanied by thunder and lightning. 'Don't leave me, Dad!'

~Flashback End~

A stinging pain shot through Kakashis' body and he let out a pained scream. For a moment his eyes shot open and he could see the figure of someone leaning over him. From far away he could hear a voice pleading: "Come on. Stay awake." before another wave of pain crashed through his body and everything got to much and he was thrown back into darkness. 

'No more!', he pleaded. 

~Flashback~

He was walking through Konoha alone. It was two weeks since Kiri nins had kidnapped Rin and he'd k-killed her.

'I'm sorry.'

Kakashi wanted to scream out to the world but he couldn't. There wasn't anyone who would hear him. He was all alone in this world. He kept his eyes on the ground, trying to ignore what happened around him. It would be far more easier if he'd been blind. That way, he wouldn't have to see Konoha without Rin or Obito in it. 

"Look, it's that boy!"

Kakashi heard the whispers of the civilians that he came across and it haunted his mind. 

"Who?"

"You know, the one they say would take out his own comrades to complete a mission."

He balled his hands and his nails cut painfully into his skin, drawing blood. 

'That's not true.'

"Oh, that boy!"

"Yeah, he killed both of his team mates!"

'Stop it.'

"How horrible! They were so young."

He could feel how he got less and less air through his lungs and the pain he felt starting to crush his chest.

"Friend killer Kakashi!"

"Yeah, that is a fitting name for a monster like him."

"Friend killer Kakashi."

"Friend killer Kakashi!"

'NO! I didn't! I didn't kill them!'

Tears were threatening to fall and the weight in his chest increased drastically. Kakashi desperately tried to hold on to the thought that he didn't kill his friends, but the more he heard those words the more he started to believe them. The boy wanted nothing more than to run and hide and cry. Why couldn't anyone understand how he's feeling? Maybe it would all be better if he didn't exist.

All of these thoughts crossed his mind over and over again and were slowly eating away his sanity, but from the outside ... from the outside he appeared to be as cold and careless as before.

He was a Hatake and he'd rather die then let other people see him vulnerable. Kakashi was the last of his clan and he needed to make his ancestors proud. So, despite the crushing pain he felt, he walked forwards step for step, with his head held high.

Silently, he continued walking until he arrived Konoha's grave yard. His body had automatically brought him to one of the places he felt as if the hole in his heart has diminished, Rin's grave.

However, today he wasn't the only one there. He saw Rins' parents kneeing next to the grave of their daughter and decided to leave. But luck wasn't with him today, as Rins mother saw him before he could escape. 

Furiously, the crying woman ran at the silver haired boy, slapping him across the face. It would have been easy for Kakashi to dodge the hit but he let the woman do what she wanted. 

'I deserve it.'

"You were her team mate!", Rins mother screamed in anguish. "You were supposed to protect my little girl and bring her home!"

Rins father took his crying wife in his arms to comfort her. 

"How dare you show your face here!", he spat at the boy. 

"I'm sorry.", whispered Kakashi in a broken voice.

"Murderer!", screamed the mourning mother and Kakashi took this as his cue to leave. 

He was followed by her screams and cries as he slowly walked away.

"Why couldn't you have died?"

'I'm wondering the same.'

He mindlessly continued to wander around when he got pushed to the ground.

"Watch where you're going, thief."

Kakashi knew that arrogant voice very good and as he looked up he saw Fugaku Uchiha standing over him.

"I'm sorry.", he whispered.

Somehow he seemed to say nothing else. Fugaku looked at him with disdain and disgust as he leaned down to the boy and snarled: "Obito might have given you his eye but from the sight of the Uchiha clan, you are nothing short of a kekkei genkai thief. You don't deserve his eye."

Kakashi wanted to cry, he knew all of this already. Before Fugaku was out of sight, he turned around one last time and told Kakashi coldly: "Obito might have not been the strongest Uchiha but he was my nephew. You killed him, Kakashi, and the Uchiha clan will never forgive you."

Kakashi hurriedly, went to one of the roofs where he had a beautiful of Konoha. Here he could finally be alone and swell in his memories.

'I'm a murderer.'

~Flashback End~

"Ahh!", Kakashi screamed in pain as he felt his chakra coils burn. It felt as if he was in the middle of Sasukes Great fireball jutsu, only that this time he couldn't escape the pain.

"Kakashi-kun!"

He could hear Anko cry from far away and caught a glimpse of her purple hair before he was swallowed by darkness once again.

~Flashback~

"Taichou."

A young Itachi stood in front of Kakashi and looked at him with an undefinable look in his eyes. Kakashi could already see that something bothered his young team mate by the way the usually calm Uchiha looked frantic around.

"Yes, Itachi?", he asked with a laid back voice.

"Can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Of course. Let's go to the hokage monument."

Silently, the two shinobis walked up the monument from where they could see the whole of Konoha. Neither of the two spoke for a while, both were just taking in the gorgeous sight of their village in the light of dawn. 

Sighing, Kakashi finally asked: "What did you want to talk about, Itachi?"

"Taichou, what do you think is a 'true' shinobi?", Itachi asked seriously. 

His voice showed Kakashi the grief, confusion and perhaps even the fear, that Itachi currently felt and the Jounin knew that something big had happened. Something life changing. But Kakashi didn't want to be part of it. Since the death of Minato and Kushina he didn't want to be involved with anything anymore.

"I don't think there is only one answer for it.", he answered vaguely. 

'Please just drop it.'

But of course, Itachi being an Uchiha didn't hear his Taichou's silent prayer.

"But what do you think, Taichou?"

"... I believe that a true shinobi doesn't seek glory but protects from the shadows. Why do you ask , Itachi?"

"No reason."

Silence embraced the two shinobis again. When the first stars appeared on the night sky, Itachi stood up.

"Thank you, Kakashi.", the young boy said and shunshinned away.

"Huh?", asked Kakashi confused.

'I think I've missed something, something important.'

And no matter how hard Kakashi tried, he couldn't get rid of the bad feeling he had gotten when Itachi left.

-Later this night-

"Taichou!"

An ANBU came running after Kakashi and he identified her immediately as his team mate Yugao Uzuki.

"Yugao, what is it?", he asked her with underlying worry. Yugao was usually quiet relaxed and didn't easily panic.

"Haven't you heard? Itachi has apparently massacred the Uchiha clan and is now a rogue nin!", the woman said quietly.

"Hahaha. That's so funny Yugao. Now what is it really?"

Kakashi tried to believe his own words, he really did, but the bad feeling he had earlier only got stronger.

"It's no joke, Taichou.", replied Yugao sadly. 

She had known Kakashi for a long time now and knew that, even though the Hatake was emotional awkward, his team mates were precious to him. 

When Kakashi heard the woman say it, he lost all composure and took the roofs to the Uchiha district. He could see the blood bath from far and changed his route to the gates of Konoha. He needed to find Itachi. He couldn't loose another Team mate!

'It's my fault! I should have talked to him more.'

When he reached the gates he only caught a glimpse of raven-colored hair disappearing in the forest.

~Flashback End~

"Tsunade-san, what is happening to my son?", Sakumo stood worriedly next to Kakashis hospital bed. In a corner of the room, Anko laid curled up asleep. The girl had rushed immediately to the hospital as soon as Sakumo had called her. Although she had the flue, the girl hadn't left Kakashis side since the day he got into the hospital. That was two days ago.

'Dad?'

Kakashi tried to open his eyes. He wanted desperately to escape the darkness that tortured him with his memories.

"He had chakra depletion which turned into a high level chakra poisoning. Not to mention that he is severly malnourished and has a sever case of insomnia. Kakashis body should have given up a long time ago. He needs time to recover but he should be fine soon."

Tears started to stream down his face. The pain of his memories was too much.

"Make it stop!", he screamed hoarsely. "Please!"

"Tsunade, what is going on?" 

Sakumos voice was the last thing Kakashi heard before he was pulled back into the darkness again.

~Flashback~ 

Without hesitation, Kakashi jumped in between Sakura and Sasuke and pushed Sasuke's arm with the shidori far away from them.

'He really meant to kill her.'

Kakashi made eye contact with his rogue student and was afraid by what he saw.

"How you've fallen Sasuke.", Kakashi said disappointed.

Sasuke easily dodged his Senseis attack and brought distance between the two.

"Sasuke.", Kakashi said seriously. "I don't like to repeat myself. But I'll say this once more. I've seen so many guys like you, I've lost count. Those who follow the path of revenge end up nowhere. Do not become obsessed with revenge!"

'Please, I'm begging you. Don't be on the list of people I've lost and let down. I can't fail one of my students. Please!'

Perhaps, it would have changed something if Kakashi had told Sasuke his true feelings, but the Jounin couldn't. He was too scared to open up and show his student how broken he actually was, so in return, Sasuke laughed hysterically.

"Hahaha."

'Please stop now!'

"As the leader of Team 7, I will settle this once and for all."

Sasuke stopped laughing and replied without any sign of emotion: "I don't like to repeat myself either. Stop acting like my Sensei."

Sasukes demand had hurt Kakashi more than he wanted to admit. He could feel his student slipping out of reach with every minute. 

'No matter how far he had fallen, he is still my student. He is one of my last precious people in this world and I won't let him do something he'd regret. I've let him down too many times.'

"Take that girl and get away from here:", Kakashi told Sakura without turning away from Sasuke. 

"I will take on what would have been your burden."

The silver haired Jounin gave her his trade mark smile to reassure her. 

'I won't let you live with the guilt of killing a comrade. I can bear it but never one of my dear students. I'll protect them as good as I can even if it means hurting myself.'

"I guess you could say it's my responsibility. Alright?"

Sakura nodded hesiatantly.

'Good. Thank you for listening to me, Sakura.'

"I don't want to kill you.", Kakashi said, hoping his voice wouldn't show the pain he felt.

"You talk like you could kill me at any time.", replied Sasuke casually. "Stop acting like you're still my Sensei. I'm itching to kill you ... Kakashi."

At this moment there was no sign of the kind boy, Itachi had left behind in Konoha and Kakashi felt guiltier than ever before. It was his fault. All his fault. 

"The sharingan is proof of being an Uchiha.", Sasuke snarled and ran at Kakashi. "A lowlife ninja who isn't an Uchiha, has no right showing off that eye!"

'I am so sorry, Sasuke.'

~Flashback End~

"Sasuke... Sakura... Naruto...", Kakashi whispered the names of his students in anguish.

It was still pitch black but he could hear the voices around him clearer.

"Sensei, I think he's waking up."

'Obito?'

"Are you sure?"

'Minato-sensei?'

"I think he's right. See, his finger is twitching."

'Rin?'

Kakashi fought desperately to escape this horrifying darkness around him but then he felt the familiar pull, that was the first warning of another flashback, and he let out a terrified scream: "No!".

~Flashback~

"Hokage-sama?"

Kakashi quickly turned to the shinobi in his make-shift office, which was actually just a tent, making his white hokage coat with the Rokudaime Hokage name swirl around him from how fast he turned around. 

"Yes?"

"There are news from the eighth platoon."

Kakashi balled his hand to a fist causing his nails to draw blood. He had send out the eighth platoon for some boarder control and they were meant to be back a day ago. 

"What are the news?", he asked calmly although he wanted to just fall asleep.

The shinobi gulped and whispered: "They were annihilated."

All colour drained from Kakashis face and he said toneless: "Out.".

The shinobi quickly left the office, glad to escape the company of his hokage. For a moment, Kakashi stood motionless before he grabbed the next best thing and threw it across the tent. A second thing followed and a third ... and another...

Kakashi continued to throw his stuff around until he fell to his knees, sobbing quietly.

"1000 shinobis.... dead... all because I send them out... all my fault..."

Someone knocked politely before the tent entrance was pushed aside and Team 7 walked in.

"Sensei?", Sakura asked gently.

She and the two boys were shocked to see their Sensei crying on the floor. Although, if they thought about it, it wasn't such a big surprise. They knew he blamed himself for a lot of things. He had told them a couple of things but not in too much detail. However, none of them could make him believe he wasn't the one to blame.

"Hey Sensei. Come on, stop crying, please.", said Naruto trying to sound cheerful.

"Dobe, you are so stupid.", reprimanded Sasuke his blonde team mate.

"Boys!"

"The eighth platoon was eliminated.", Kakashi told them tonelessly.

There was a depressing silence until the three students kneed down next to their Sensei.

"It isn't your fault, Kakashi-sensei.", said Sasuke urgently. 

"He is right for once, Sensei."

"... I'm their hokage, I'm responsible for them..."

"Sensei, you were expectantly made hokage after baa-chan fell in a coma. We are in the middle of a war. No one blames you for what happened.", Naruto told him seriously. 

"But..."

"Enough of that!", shouted Sakura frustrated. "You're not alone anymore, Sensei. When will you learn? We are and always will be your team. What ever happens, we'll have your back. You're family to us."

~Flashback End~

When Kakashi awoke this time, he could finally keep his eyes open and the pain in his body and heart had faded slightly. He looked around drowsily and saw his father, Minato, Obito, Rin, Orochimaru, Anko and another brown haired boy sitting in his hospital room asleep. 

A small smile graced his face as he realised that he wasn't as alone as he'd presumed. Although it wasn't his time, he still had a small family here that he needed to protect at all cost. 

"Kakashi-kun?"

Anko had woken up and rubbed her eyes tiredly. 

"Yes?"

"You're awake!", she cheered but then her face turned dark. "Don't you dare do that again! You hear me? Kami knows, what could have happened to you if Genma didn't find you in time."

Outraged, Anko pointed at the brown haired boy in the room.

"Genma found me?", Kakashi asked quietly.

'Genma Shiranui? I haven't seen him since the fight against Madara.'

"Yeah, he did. Tsunade-sama said that if he'd found you an hour later, your chakra poisoning wouldn't have been treatable.", Anko said whilst tears began to run down her face. 

Sobbing, she tried to wipe them away. Hesitantly, Kakashi pulled the sobbing girl into his arms.

"P-Promise me, you'll start eating and sleeping. And stop taking those soldier pills!", Anko looked at Kakashi pleadingly.

"I promise."

'I'll start eating and sleeping. My students wouldn't like to see me like this. Sakura would kill me if she saw what I did to my health. And Naruto and Sasuke wouldn't let me be on my own anymore in fear of losing me.'

"I promise, Anko."


	12. Chapter 12

~Timeskip 2 years ( 5BNB)~

During the last two years Kakashi had gotten better. He no longer neglected his health and body, even though he still had trouble sleeping. More often than not, Orochimaru had to take the place of Sasuke and knock the time traveller unconscious in order for him to rest. On other nights, Kakashi would just stay awake and think about the past or the future. And then there were the very rare but precious nights, where he'd fall asleep with

Anko next to him.

The girl had a gift to make Kakashi feel better.

Since the day he had woken up in the hospital two years ago, she hadn't left his side and continued to unknowingly heal fragments of Kakashis broken soul. Anko probably didn't realise the effect she had on Kakashi but because of her the silver haired boy was able to continue to live in this time without having a mental break down each minute.

Anko even convinced him to make up with his other friends. There were a lot of tears and accusations but in the end they all were on friendly terms. It could never be the same as it was in Kakashis past life but it was okay. Kakashi had seen too much and his friends of this time were too innocent as that they could build a friendship as deep as before. There had been times were Kakashi had hoped for this to happen but now he had made his peace with the fact that they had grown too much apart.

Instead, he had made new friendships.

One of them was Genma Shiranui, the boy who had found and brought him to the hospital. During his time in the hospital, Genma had come a lot of times to visit him. One day, Kakashi had asked him curiously for his reason. They had never been close friends merely acquaintances but even so the boy had visited him a lot. Genma had laughed embarrassed and said: "I don't really know. It's just that I feel like I can talk to you, I guess? There's just something about you that intrigues me. You're a nice guy and I kind of wanted to be your friend for a while now, I just didn't know how to approach you. You were sort of a jerk to everyone that wasn't your father.". Since that day they had been friends.

The only thing that showed that Kakashi was still a broken man, were his eyes. Most of the time he was able to shield his feelings from others by getting rid of all emotions in his eyes so that they were just two never ending dark orbs. However, sometimes, especially if he was alone or at crucial dates like the 10th of October, his dark eyes would show the pain and sorrow he carried around day for day.

Today was one of these days where he couldn't pull up his barrier.

Today was one of the days he had anxiously awaited and also one of the most influential days for the future.

Today, Uchiha Itachi was meant to be born.

Kakashi had watched the Uchiha compound closely for the whole day from different hiding places, currently he was in one of the trees surrounding Sasuke's childhood home.

Watching the Uchihas made Kakashi remember why he disliked them so much. They were too arrogant and proud to see that they weren't invincible. They were literally a pain in the ass. In all honesty, Kakashi had every right to hate this clan and he probably should have, they were basically the cause for all of his pain, but even so, they still gave him the greatest gifts he could have ever asked for. Itachi had been an amazing team mate in Team Ro and Kakashi knew that he would do anything for Konoha. Obito might have caused the world how Kakashi knew it to collapse, but he was still his best friend and brother in anything but blood. And even though Sasuke had left him, attacked Konoha and hurt his comrades, he was still his precious student.

Suddenly a high pitched scream broke through the silent Uchiha compound and caused Kakashi flinch and the ravens in the trees to fly off. Kakashi watched, carefully hidden, as a couple of Uchihas ran to the clan head's house and waited there anxiously for their new clan heir. 

After a while Fugaku came outside and ordered his clan members to leave, Mikoto had given birth to a strong and healthy clan heir and now wished for some peace and quiet.

Kakashi waited until Fugaku left with the other Uchihas before he quickly searched for any other chakra presence in the house. When he only found Mikoto's and Baby Itachi's presence, the time traveller took a last deep breath in an attempt to steady his nerves before opening a portal to his and Obitos Kamui dimension.

Mikoto was currently watching her baby boy laying quietly in his cradle when suddenly a portal opened and a person stepped out of it. The Uchiha matriarch immediately activated her sharingan and grabbed a kunai, ready to defend her newborn son with all means. The woman had been prepared for some big, bulky shinobi from one of the other shinobi villages but what she didn't expect was, that the intruder was some 9 year old boy from Konoha! And she didn't expect to know him!

"Kakashi? What are you doing here?", she asked confused but didn't lower her weapon.

"Mikoto-san.", Kakashi greeted the Uchiha calmly. 

However, his eyes betrayed his calm behaviour as they flickered relentless and checked the room over and over again for any dangers. Mikoto took notice of Kakashis restless behaviour and upped her defences.

"What are you doing in my house Kakashi? It's not that I don't like you or anything but you shouldn't be here."

The time traveller wanted to hit himself for not thinking about a reason for his sudden intrusion, but instead was racking his mind for an answer that wouldn't end with him being interrogated and labelled as a traitor. Kakashi was most likely one of the strongest shinobis out there and had survived the most unlikeliest things but when it came to talking to someone in this timeline that wasn't necessarily his friend, he acted like a complete idiot. He didn't even notice how much time had passed or that Mikoto had began to talk to him again, he was so caught up in finding an answer to this simple question.

"Kakashi?", Mikoto asked the Hatake-boy again. 

Just a couple of days ago she had had a conversation with Kushina about the silver haired boy and how much he had changed in the last couple of years. Mikoto remembered that there had been a time were the young Hatake had been Konohas gossip topic Number 1. Not many people knew what had actually been going on and precisely that mystery had been one of the main reason for the many rumours. Most of those rumours had been about his sudden change in attitude and his association to Orochimarus' student, however there had even been rumours that Kakashi had tried to kill himself but ended up in the hospital instead. 

The raven haired woman remembered precisely the day when her nephew Obito had ran through the Uchiha compound towards the hospital. She remembered lively the expression of utter fear and guilt in Obitos face when he had heard about Kakashi being in the hospital. Obito came to her afterwards, crying his eyes out about the silver haired boy. Apparently, the boy had been unconscious for most of the time and his state had only been disrupted by his pained screams. 

According to Kushina, Kakashi had gotten better after his hospital visit and Obito also had said that their relationship was slowly getting better again. However, as hard as Mikoto looked, she couldn't see the improvement. It might have been because of her sharingan but she couldn't see the boy in the same way Kushina and Obito had described him. She could see that he was slowly,very slowly, healing. That something or someone was putting his broken pieces back together but it was a very tedious and slow process. What had caught her attention immediately were the huge impenetrable steel walls the boy had put around his heart. That wasn't a sign of a healing person but of one that tried his best to pretend to be okay. 

"Huh? Oh, sorry Mikoto-san, I was spacing out for a moment. What were you asking?", Kakashi asked acting embarrassed. 

He had heard her loud and clear, he just needed a little bit more time to figure out an answer. Mikoto looked at him warily. 

"Why are you here?"

Apparently his thinking time was over. 

"I'm here for Itachi.", the words came out faster than he could think and when he saw Mikoto tense and stepping closer to her baby, he knew it was the wrong thing to say. 

"No,no, not like that. I just wanted to see him.", he hastily added. 

Mikoto looked at him warily. Usually she would have already alerted Fugaku and the other clan members about the intruder and usually she wouldn't hesitate to kill the person, especially when he was here because of her newborn son but there was just something about the young Hatake. Something that she couldn't put a name on but that something stopped her from attacking the boy and instead caused her to do something totally crazy.

"Do you want to hold him?", she asked hesitantly. 

Kakashis eyes widened in surprise and he took a step back in shock. 

"You would let me hold him?", he asked her incredulous.

Seeing the look of utter shock in the boys eyes only encouraged Mikoto in her decision and she carefully took Itachi out if his cradle. With her baby in her arm she walked closer to the silver haired boy.

"Hold your hands like this. You have to steady his head, okay?", she softly told Kakashi and put her son carefully into his arms.

At first the time traveller stood there straight as a board, not daring to move a muscle in fear of hurting the precious and fragile child in his arm. But after he realised that Itachi wouldn't disappear when he held him, Kakashis stance became more confidence and he held the baby protectively closer to him.

"Thank you for everything Itachi.", Kakashi said quietly and smiled gratefully at the baby. 

Itachi's dark eyes looked at him confused at first, but then he smiled widely and his chubby hands stretched to touch the time travellers' face. The high pitched giggle of a baby could be heard throughout the whole house and for a moment the pure and innocent sound chased away Kakashis demons. 

Mikoto watched incredulously the interaction between her baby and the silver haired boy. 

"Itachi hasn't shown much emotions since he was born. He didn't even cry and I was afraid something was wrong with him but our medic assured me that he was a healthy and strong baby. For him to laugh and smile at you, Kakashi, after seeing you only for a couple of minutes is ...it is almost a miracle. You must be very special.", Mikoto said after a while. 

She couldn't help but feel a little bit jealous of the young boy. After all, it was him that Itachi had gifted with his first smile. Not his mother nor his father or any other clan member for that matter but instead a total stranger. 

Kakashi never, not even for a moment, took his eyes away from the child in his arms when he answered her: "I'm not special, I'm just me. However Mikoto-san, your son is one of the most special people I know. One day he will be known as a hero in Konoha and all other villages. He will be known for his kindness, knowledge and loyalty. I promise it."

Kakashis dark eyes finally looked at the Uchiha matriarch and Mikoto was shocked by the emotions shown in those mysterious eyes. The sight in front of her made her heart wrench painfully. The young boy had tears streaming down his face, something that even he wasn't aware of, and his eyes that had been like impenetrable walls mirrored his feelings of lost. Being a fresh mother, she couldn't help but hope to never see her son with the same haunted eyes. At this moment she promised herself, her baby and the broken boy in front of her, to do everything in her power for Itachi to have an ordinary childhood, traditions be dammed. If the price of being a prodigy was having a shattered soul because they children were far too young for the brutal reality of being a shinobi, than she would never let her baby go down this path. Never. 

"Mikoto-san, Itachi will grow up to be an exceptional shinobi. And I swear on my life that nothing will happen to him as long as I'm around.", Kakashi said quietly but determined and Mikoto believed every single word with her whole heart.

It was naive to put all of her hopes on the young boys shoulders, Mikoto knew that, but something was telling her that Itachi would be safe with the broken boy around. 

Kakashi softly kissed Itachis forehead before giving him back to Mikoto. He gave the mother of two of his precious people a polite nod; he would never bow to anyone else but Naruto again, not after everything he went through; and opened a portal into his kamui dimension again and disappeared. The only proof of him being here was Itachis smile.

Suddenly, the door was flung open and Fugaku stormed inside.

"Mikoto! Are you and the clan heir alright? I felt a foreign chakra presence in here.", the clan head asked quickly. He couldn't afford to have his clan heir in danger. It would be embarrassing for the Uchihas if their heir had been killed or abducted hours after his birth.

"Don't worry dear.", Mikoto replied smiling. "That was just Itachis guardian. We won't have to worry about Itachi being in any danger as long as he is around."

Fugaku looked sceptically at his wife but he couldn't detect any lies from her.

"If you say so.", he replied still wary.


	13. Chapter 13

~Time skip 1 year~

"No.", Sakumo stated coldly his body in a defiant state. 

Minato next to him looked just as determined, his blue eyes wide in shock by what he had heard.

"Sakumo, I know it is hard to understand but..."

"He's my son!", shouted Sakumo angrily.

Hiruzen sighed tiredly and took a drag from his pipe. He should have known Sakumo wouldn't accept it that easily. But there was nothing he could do. 

"And he is my shinobi.", replied Hiruzen calmly.

"Lord Third, please. My team can fight at the end of the war but not in the heart of the conflict. They are mere children! Please let me take his place!", pleaded Minato and looked at the white haired Sannin for help.

Jiraya, Tsunade and Orochimaru stood next to the hokage and were just as worried and angry as Minato and Sakumo, well at least two of them.

"It won't be your entire team, only Kakashi.", said Hiruzen firmly.

"Sensei, I don't think Kakashi..."

"Tsunade, enough.", ordered Hiruzen sternly.

"I don't like it anymore than you to send the child into the war but Kakashi himself wished for it and someone promised me that he was indeed ready for war. I can't do anything against it, Kakashi already is a chunnin and has to be treated like any other Shinobi of his rank."

Quickly Sakumo shouted: "Then let me join the first platoon! Let me fight side by side with my son!"

Hiruzen wished he could allow Sakumo's wish, it would make him feel better and the guilt that was eating him away would maybe diminish. However, Orochimaru had made him promise that Sakumo would not be a part of the first platoon, no matter what. He still couldn't believe that his own student wanted to send a child into the war, especially one that had been mentally unstable a couple of years ago. 

"I'm sorry but I can't.", he said helplessly.

"You're the hokage, of course you can!", shouted Sakumo angrily.

Before the situation could go out of hand any further, Orochimaru stepped forward. His snake like eyes stared right into Sakumos when he said: "Sensei really can't do anything about it. It was Kakashis wish that you wouldn't be on the first platoon."

The people in the office gasped in shock. None of them could understand why a child wouldn't want his father next to them when they went to war. 

"You...", Sakumo stepped forward, looking closer at the Snake Sannin, "You are the person that said my son was ready for this war. Aren't you?!", he snarled. 

When Orochimaru didn't say anything and only stared passively at the Hatake, Sakumo lost his cool and punched the Sannin. 

"Are you?", he hissed furiously.

Orochimaru didn't even flinch when Sakumos fist met his face, he could understand where the man was coming from, and instead answered calmly: "Yes."

However, his answer had a devastating effect. 

Hiruzen looked powerless at the unfolding events and asked himself once more, how he could have agreed to his students plan. On the one side, the hokage could understand where his students request was coming from. Kakashi was a prodigy and if what Orochimaru said was true, he was a one in a century prodigy and Konoha needed any manpower it could get. But on the other hand it went against his morals. The boy was still a child, only 10 years old and way to young to take another's life. 

The blonde Jounin sensei had to hold back from following Sakumos example and hurting the Sannin as well. Minato stared at Orochimaru incredulously, his piercing blue eyes holding no longer respect but only hot anger for the powerful shinobi. In Minato's eyes, the Sannin had no right to order Kakashi around. The silver haired boy was his student and as his sensei he was the best at saying whether the boy was ready or not. And he wasn't!

Tsunade and Jiraiya looked at their team mate shocked. They knew Orochimaru was ... weird sometimes. They understood that the Snake Sannin had a different view point than most but sending another's Gennin into a full out war was unexpected even for him.

However, none of their reaction was as bad as Sakumos. The silver haired man looked at the Sannin with bright burning hatred in the eyes before he stormed out looking for his son. 

Minato soon followed him but not before giving the hokage and everyone else a disappointed look. 

Hiruzen sighed tiredly and took a drag from his pipe. The war hadn't even started yet and he was already exhausted. 

The closing of a door made them aware that Orochimaru too had left the office. The three remaining people just shared helpless looks before they too went away to get ready. 

"Kakashi.", Orochimaru greeted the silver haired boy.

The time traveller immediately stopped his training and turned to the Sannin. He didn't miss the worry in his eyes and it made him anxious of what he had to say.

"We are moving out this evening. Sensei has finally agreed to letting you join us."

Kakashi sighed relieved, their plan was finally happening. 

"That is very good news. Now I can actually start changing something...", he murmured absentmindedly.

"Kakashi maybe you should over think the plan again.", said Orochimaru hesitantly.

Kakashi stared at the man confused. Orochimaru had become a close friend to him being the only one he could really talk to and he often times he asked for his opinion. The Sannin had always supported his plan of joining the war early on, something must have happened for him to suddenly change his mind. 

"Why? I thought we were sure about the plan. If I join, I alone could take out any enemy force. Konoha would loose probably none of its shinobis and maybe the Kannabi Bridge Mission won't ever take place. Isn't that our end goal?", Kakashi asked perplexed.

Orochimaru sighed sadly. He couldn't blame the time traveller for not realising that he would hurt the people he left behind. 

"Your father didn't take the news very well, neither did your sensei and I doubt anyone would take it good. You do realise that for everyone else, you are only a child, right? I know that you have survived worse than we could ever imagine but they don't know that. For your father you are still his ten year old son."

Kakashi frowned absentmindedly. He had indeed not shared a lot of thoughts about this. For him, the lives he could safe outweighed the pain he would cause his precious people. 

"It doesn't matter.", he replied defensively and started to walk away.

"Think about what you felt when your students went out into the war. When Naruto was send out to the front lines! Or when Sasuke joined a war where he was hated by both sides! Or when Sakura was send to the medical tents, the least protected part of the camp! What did you feel?", Orochimaru shouted after him.

This made Kakashi stop.

'I was scared I would loose them, even though I knew that my students were stronger than most shinobis. I was worried sick about them.'

"And now think about what your father is feeling! You are his own blood and flesh, the last person he loves on this world."

'Their safety is more important than any feeling. I can't stay here when I know I could make a difference.' 

Without further hesitation Kakashi continued walking. He had to get ready for war once again. 

Orochimaru watched the time traveller leave and knew that he had made his choice. He hadn't really believed that Kakashi would stop and stay, but the hope was there. Not only because he wanted to spare Kakashis precious people the pain, especially his own student Anko, but also because he didn't want the broken boy on a battle field ever again. Kakashi had fulfilled his duty in his past life more than enough, he deserved a rest. However, that was something he would probably never get, at least not in the close future. 

'I need to tell Anko that she has to say goodbye.'

"Kakashi, we need to talk."

These were the words, Kakashi was greeted by when he arrived at his home. Sakumo was sitting in the living room, waiting for his son to join him. Kakashi already knew what they would be talking about but it didn't make it any easier for him. Uncomfortable, he sat opposite to his father and waited. 

For a long time both silver haired men stared into the dark eyes of the other until Sakumo finally asked: "Why?"

Kakashi sat there helplessly, unable to answer.

"Why would you choose to go to war? Why would you willingly leave everything behind? Why don't you want a normal childhood?" 

The more Sakumo asked, the more angry he got. 

"Why don't you want me to go with you?!"

Although it was extremely hard and Kakashi was close to breaking down into tears,he replied calmly: "Because you are precious to me. I love you Dad and I would do anything to protect you, even if it means going to war."

Instead of shouting, Sakumo broke down and cried. He cried for his son that was growing up too fast. He cried for the innocent soul that would be tainted by the reality of war. He cried for the broken promise he had made to Clary. And he cried because even though he was a powerful shinobi, he couldn't protect his loved ones.

Sakumo had known what the fate of a prodigy was and he still had pushed his boy further and further but he regretted it deeply. He had almost lost his child twice now, if something happened to him in the war...

Kakashi stood up and stepped next to his father. He gently hugged the sobbing man and whispered: "Stay safe Dad.".

Then he broke their hug and walked to his room, getting his backpack ready to leave. He would have to visit a couple of people before he could leave. 

Tacking a couple of his self-made seals in his hands he looked around his room one last time. The seals in his hand were emergency transportation seals. A person would have to activate them with only a drop of chakra and Kakashi would be immediately transported to the person. He had already put one of them together with an explanation in his fathers bedroom, now he just had to break into his friends houses and leave the seals there. The hardest would be breaking into Minato-senseis and Kushinas house without getting noticed, especially now that Minato was aware of Kakashi leaving. 

The time traveller had easily left the seals in the houses. Just now he had been in Minatos house and only had one more house left. He made the mistake of looking back and in exactly that moment Kushina broke down crying in Minatos arms. 

'He must have told her.'

It made Kakashis heart clench painfully to see his mother figure weeping and sobbing. He wished he could tell her and everyone else that he would come back alive, that he was not a little child they had to worry about.

'I'm so sorry.', he thought regretfully. 'Even when I try to protect someone, I end up hurting them instead.'

Slowly he made his way to the last house he would have to visit, the Uchiha clan house.

Kakashi had been so distracted by his thoughts that he had forgotten to check Itachis room for any chackra signature, so when he shunshinned there he was unpleasantly surprised to see Mikoto sitting there. 

"Kakashi?", the black haired woman asked perplexed.

"Uh...uh...good evening Mikoto-san.", he stuttered uncomfortable. 

"Are you here to see Itachi?", she asked smiling. 

It wasn't unusual for Kakashi to just barge into Itachis room whether it was to play with her son or to check up on how he was doing. However, usually the silver haired boy wasn't so distraught. He probably wasn't aware of it but his eyes showed deep restlessness and worry. 

Kakashi sighed and rubbed his eyes tiredly. He wasn't prepared to see anyone before he left. 

"I'm here to say goodbye.", he answered quietly.

"Oh, are you going on a mission with your team?", asked Mikoto still smiling gently.

"Not exactly.", Kakashi replied vaguely. 

Mikoto watched him with a raised eyebrow.

"Huh?"

Having had enough experiences with Uchihas, Kakashi knew the woman wouldn't give up before he told her everything.

"I'm part of the first platoon that leaves this evening.", he shot out.

For a moment Mikoto's heart stopped before beating twice as fast. All colour had left her face and she stared silently at the silver haired boy. A couple of her clan members would leave with the same platoon as well and their clan had already celebrated their departure. However, the shinobis of the first platoon where usually one of the strongest. They were Konohas first wall of defence and everyone knew that only a small amount of the shinobis in this platoon survived. In the clans, those shinobis were already declared dead before they even left Konoha. So why in the world was a child part of this cursed platoon? Why was an innocent soul that had its whole life in front of them destined to die?

"Y-You are what?", she asked stuttering. 

"I'm part of the first platoon.", repeated Kakashi calmly and held the seal towards Mikoto. "If anything happens to Itachi while I'm not here use that seal to summon me. Stay safe Mikoto-san."

Unable to do anything, Mikoto grabbed the seal and watched the young boy shunshinn away. The young mother let a couple of tears slip as she realised Kakashi had left.

'What has become of this world that young children have to fight a war grown men have started? Please stay safe Kakashi.'

Kakashi had shunshinned to a clearing not far from the Uchiha district. It was beautiful here. The dark trees and the high grass made the clearing appear protected and isolated. In the middle of it was a lake that reflected the sun which made it look as if the lake was made out of crystals. Kakashi walked towards it and saw his reflection in the water. The time traveller wanted to look away, ever since the fourth shinobi world war he wasn't able to look at himself without disgust, but he was caught by his dark bottomless eyes. 

They showed him his inner conflict, something he had fought hard to keep his mind of. 

Kakashi wasn't like Naruto who could make friends with everyone, he didn't trust easy and getting close to him was even harder. However, there were shinobis in the fourth shinobi world war he had taken a liking too, even if they were from different villages. It actually wasn't hard to do that. They had been soldiers or to be more precise brothers in arms. They had fought together and they had cried together. They had laughed and they had celebrated together. They had been one united family.

But now he would have to fight and kill his family in order to protect his village. It was tearing him apart. 

And for the first time since he came back, Kakashi felt like a monster.

The silver haired boy knew that he was powerful, knew he had an advantage and had used it to it fullest capacities. And that was alright with his conscious when he thought about the fight he would have with Madara and Zetsu and, in the worst case scenario, Kaguya. However, now he had to fight against shinobis! Enemies that were only human. That bled and felt pain. Humans that would have a family to come home to. Kakashi would have to kill them all. He would have to end the life of a father or a mother, a son or a daughter, an uncle or an aunt, a nephew or a niece. 

And one day, the families of the dead shinobis were going to seek revenge. It was an ever continuing cycle and Kakashi desperately wished for his students to be by his side, especially the blonde knucklehead. Naruto had a gift to make everyone feel better and even in the darkest time of the war, he had never lost his light. It had diminished a lot but it never went out. 

Bong! Bong! Bong!

The bell that called the first platoon stopped Kakashis thoughts from drifting too far and left him with only one thing in mind.

The war wouldn't be much of a fight, it would be a slaughter...of humans.

He couldn't see himself as a human anymore, not after the fact that he would kill thousands in the next battle. 

Kakashi quickly walked towards Konohas' gates to join the other shinobis. 

He wasn't far away from the gates when he was suddenly stopped by two figures. Absentmindedly Kakashi looked up, not caring who it was. However, that immediately changed when he saw the telltale purple hair. 

'Anko. Genma.'

Anko glared at the time traveller angrily and even Genma had an unpleasant look on his face. 

"I hope you didn't plan without saying goodbye to your two best friends.", the girl hissed irritated. 

She didn't want to believe that Kakashi would leave without telling her but if she thought about it for longer, it was exactly the kind of thing Kakashi would do. Not because he didn't like them but because he was scared of goodbyes. After knowing him for a couple of years, Anko had figured out a couple of things. One of them being his fear of farewells and the fear of disappointing others. She was pretty sure that he had tried to leave in secret so that they would figure it out only after he was gone. 

"Well...", murmured Kakashi quietly and looked to the floor. 

"Luckily we found you in time.", said Genma. He too wasn't happy with the fact that Kakashi would leave without saying anything. Especially when he left with the first platoon. 

"Guys...I'm s..."

"Nope. Don't say anything. Just let us say goodbye." Genma quickly went to hug his best friend. "Be careful out there.", he whispered so that only Kakashi could hear him. 

The genuine concern in Genma's voice caused tears to swell up in Kakashis eyes. His old friends had always told him the same thing whenever he went out to fight.

"Okay.", he whispered back with a glum voice. 

The brown haired boy let go of his friend and gave him an encouraging smile. Kakashi returned the smile gratefully and then looked unsure to Anko.

"Promise me that you will come back alive!", demanded the purple haired girl urgently.

She tried desperately not to cry but it was hard, especially when her heart felt like breaking into pieces. Her first and best friend, the one she had known for almost three years now and the one in whose presence she felt safer than anywhere else, was going into the heart of a war. A place that not even grown men returned from alive. 

'I don't want you to leave me, Kakashi-kun.', she thought downhearted. 

Kakashi looked her sorrowful into the eyes. 

"I can't promise you something like this.", he answered her quietly.

'I wish I could.'

Obviously he planned on returning home alive, his mission wasn't over yet and he still needed to protect his precious people. However, there was always a slim chance that something unexpected would happen and he'd end up killed, that was the risk of being a shinobi. If this case ever happened, Orochimaru would have enough information to stop the worst from happening. 

"I'm sorry.", Kakashi said apologetic and turned towards Genma again. "Look after her, will you?", the time traveller asked his friend pleadingly. 

Anko had turned away so that the boys wouldn't see her tears but the trembling of her shoulders and the light smell of salt told Kakashi that the strong girl was indeed crying. It hurt the silver haired boy deeply to see her sad, he wanted her to be happy. Genma saw the longing look in Kakashis, something the boy probably wasn't aware of, and had to suppress a bright smile. 

"I'll look after her, promise.", he reassured Kakashi.

The time traveller nodded gratefully and mouthed a 'Thank you' before he glanced a last time at the purple haired girl. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and turned around, he really needed to go. Suddenly, his heart felt even heavier than before and tears were threatening to leave his eyes. 

Kakashi had only taken a couple of steps when he was tackled from behind. Slender arms hugged his body and a petite body was pressed against his back. He didn't dare to look over his shoulder but the smell of fresh rain with a hint of dango was unmistakably hers. Small drops of water ran down his back and the vibrations of her trembling body went right to his heart. 

"You are in my debt, remember? When I broke you out of your trance in the hokage office three years ago you told me that. You owe me something, right?", Ankos voice was thin and accompanied by tears. 

Kakashi stared into the distance, remembering the event three years ago. 

Suppressing his body from trembling, he answered quietly: "Yes."

He could see the first platoon coming together, ready to move out but he didn't want to leave Anko. Not like this. 

"In this case", Anko tightened her grip around Kakashi, "to pay of your debt, I want you to promise me that you will do your best to survive and when you come back, I want to be the first one you come to see. Promise me that."

Kakashi smiled slightly and looked up into the clear sky. The clouds that had earlier darkened the sky, had disappeared and now the sun was shining brightly.

"I promise I'll do my best and you'll be the first person I come to see."

Anko reluctantly let go of the silver haired boy, there was nothing she could do to prolong his leaving anymore. 

Without turning around, the time traveller walked away to join the other shinobis.


	14. Chapter 14

"Come on Anko. Stop this madness. Do you think Kakashi would like to see you in the hospital when he comes back?"

Genma stood next to his purple haired friend and watched her worried. Since Kakashis departure five days ago, Anko had done nothing else than train, eat, sleep and train again. It was like Kakashi three years ago all over again and it worried Genma immensely. He could partly understand her actions, he too had started to train harder but Anko over did it. 

Panting, the girl stopped and glared at her other best friend.

"I need to catch up to Kakashi-kun as fast as possible.", she muttered exhausted. 

And even though she tried to pretend to be okay, Genma saw right through her mask and the pain and fear she desperately tried to hide laid wide open for him. She missed the silver haired boy terribly. Genma sighed quietly and quickly grabbed her hand. 

"Let's visit Namikaze-san and Uzumaki-san. Maybe they know something new about Kakashi.", he said cheerfully and dragged Anko with him.

'Don't worry Kakashi, I will look after her just like I promised. But please, come home soon. We both miss you.', he thought and prayed to Kami to watch over his friend. 

It hurt him to pretend to be okay around Anko when he missed his best friend as well but he had to endure it. If only to lighten some of his best friends burden. 

The two children soon stood in front of Kushinas and Minatos house. Throughout their whole walk through Konoha, they had received glances of pity. It was no secret that the two were friends with the boy that went with the first platoon. They were often times called 'cursed children' behind their backs because somebody had started the rumour that everyone associated with the young Hatake was destined to die. Nobody knew who started that mad rumour, not even the hokage could find out, and that only caused Kakashis friends to get more furious. It was especially hard on Sakumo and in response, the Hatake had hid himself in his house, only ever leaving his room for a daily check up in the hokage office.

When Kushina opened her front door only to see two children, Anko Mitarashi and Genma Shiranui, standing there, the smile on her face vanished immediately and instead a frown settled on her face.

Kushina didn't hate the two children, just ... disliked them a lot. 

It had always been Obito, Rin, Kakashi, Minato and her but ever since Kakashi had met Anko and later on Genma, he continued to drift away from them. They were supposed to be a family but that didn't happen. It didn't help that Ankos Sensei Orochimaru was responsible for Kakashis absence. Even though she didn't hate the children, she did hate Orochimaru for what he had done. 

Keeping a polite tone, Kushina asked the two: "How may I help you?"

Genma and Anko, noticing the tense atmosphere, hesitated for a moment but then Genma asked: "We were just wondering if you had heard anything about Kakashi or about the first platoon in general."

Annoyed by the fact that the two wanted to know more about Kakashi, Kushina answered sharply: "No, there are still no news."

At the cold answer, Anko sighed upset and unconsciously tightened her grip around Genmas hand. Genma, noticing the discomfort of his friend, squeezed her hand slightly to let her know he was there. He grinned at the purple haired girl encouragingly. 

"Thank you for your time, Uzumaki-san.", Genma thanked Kushina quickly.

He had seen the displeased look the red haired woman had given Anko and him and he was determined to get his friend out of here as fast as possible. Anko didn't need anymore reason to be upset.

Kushina scowled annoyed as the two children were leaving and before she could stop herself, her temper had taken over and she hissed: "Hey you two, do us all a favour! If Kakashi ever comes back alive, stay away from him!"

The two children stood frozen in place, their hearts racing and their minds unable to comprehend what Kushina had told them.

Before Genma had the chance to pull Anko away, she had turned around and snarled at the older woman: "What?! What do you mean if he comes back? He will definitely come home! He promised! And why should we stay away from him? He's our best friend and we won't abandon him just because someone told us to do so!"

Originally, Kushina had felt bad as soon as the harsh words came out but hearing this little girl disrespecting her so bluntly, let her forget about it quickly. 

"Don't be silly! The probability of Kakashi returning alive is almost zero and a measly promise isn't going to change that! You should have stopped your sensei if you wanted Kakashi to stay alive."

Right now, Kushina didn't care if she was speaking to a child, she didn't care that she destroyed the hope that child had hanged on to, her frustration and jealousy were letting her speak freely. 

Anko stared at her wide eyed, confused what her sensei had to do with any of this. Meanwhile, Genma could do nothing but watch as his attempt to cheer up his friend turned into a disaster. 

"W-What do you mean?", Anko asked timidly. 

However, Kushina was too caught up in her rant as to notice the abrupt change in Ankos attitude.

"What I mean?! If your sensei would have kept his mouth shut Kakashi would still be in Konoha! That irresponsible snake just had to tell the hokage Kakashi was ready to fight in a war.", she hissed with venom in her voice. 

Tears swelled up in Ankos eyes and her hands began to shake as she listened to Kushina going on and on about how her sensei had basically signed Kakashi's death sentence. 

'Orochimaru-sensei has sent Kakashi-kun away? B-but that can't be real! They are friends! He can't be responsible ....' 

As the first sob left her lips Genma finally woke up from his frozen state and grabbed without further hesitation Anko's arm and pulled her away. As they were running through Konoha, Anko couldn't stop her tears anymore and the next time she stumbled, she just let herself fall to the ground. Genma awkwardly tried to cheer her up but he really wasn't the best with crying girls. 

"Anko-chan? Genma-kun?" 

The two hadn't realised that they had stopped close to the Uchiha compound and that Mikoto had made her way over to see them. 

"U-Uchiha-san.", greeted Genma the Uchiha matriarch perplexed. He had only seen Mikoto a couple of times and most of the times he had picked up Kakashi from the Uchiha compound. He hadn't even known that the woman knew his name.

Realising that she wasn't alone anymore Anko tried to stop her tears and rubbed quickly her eyes. 

"Hello Uchiha-san.", she murmured quickly and stood up.

Mikoto looked sympathetic at the two children. She understood how the children must feel, with their best friend on the front and all. It hurt her to see the two so upset especially as she knew how much they meant to Kakashi.

"I just baked some cookies. How about you two join me for tea? I'm sure Itachi would be happy to get to know you, he's feeling quite lonely lately.", she said smiling.

Genma and Anko exchanged a perplexed look. Why would the Uchiha matriarch want to have tea with them? 

Thinking that it might cheer up Anko a bit, Genma answered hesitantly: "Sure, if you want to Uchiha-san."

Anko nodded hesitantly. Hearing this, Mikoto smiled brightly and turned around. Looking over her shoulder she told them: "By the way, you can call me Mikoto-san. Kakashi's friends are my friends."

Feeling overwhelmed, the two children followed Mikoto into the Uchiha compound. As they walked towards the clan head house they got a lot of confused and surprised stares from the other Uchihas. 

Mikoto gently pushed the two children into her living room and on to the sofa. She could almost see the insecurity and confusion the two felt.

"I will be back in a minute. I am just getting Itachi and then I will prepare some tea and the cookies.", she said softly. 

Leaving the two children to themselves, she quickly went into he bedroom where Itachi had taken a nap. However, when she stepped inside her baby was already awake and stared at her with curious eyes. 

Itachi had been unusually quiet ever since Kakashi had left and Mikoto was pretty sure that her son missed his older brother figure. Kakashi had never been away for longer than two days from Itachi. Mikoto herself might not have seen him everyday but she knew for a fact that Kakashi had visited Itachi a lot in secret.

She gently picked Itachi up and walked back to the living room. Anko and Genma hadn't even moved an inch from where they sat when she left and Mikoto had to suppress a smile from breaking out.

"That is Itachi.", she said to the two children as she put her son on a blanket on the floor. "Could you look after him while I get the tea and cookies?"

"Of course Mikoto-san.", answered the two simultaneously. 

That caused them all to laugh slightly and Mikoto left them alone. 

Mikoto came back to an adorable sight. Anko and Genma had kneed down next to Itachi and pulled funny faces which caused Itachi to giggle happily. She was glad to see Anko smile again after her cry earlier. 

When she put down the tea and cookies, all three children looked up at her with wide eyes. Apparently none of them had sensed her come in. 

Smiling, she sat down and motioned Genma and Anko to join her. When the two children were eating their cookies, Mikoto decided to speak up.

"So how are you two doing? It must be hard on you that Kakashi is away.", she said bluntly. There was no reason to talk around the point. 

When the mood drastically changed and Anko looked ready to cry again, she regretted being straight forward slightly. 

Mikoto got up quickly and walked next to Anko. She gently put her arms around her and for the first time in a long while, Anko experienced the warmth of a mother again. She had never met her parents and Mikoto's embrace let all walls break and she cried softly. 

Feeling awkward and out of place, Genma shuffled nervously around. He too missed Kakashi and seeing Anko cry made his tear swell up as well. 

As if Mikoto sensed Genmas discomfort, she looked directly at him and held up on of her arms. Seeing this, Genma hesitantly joined the hug as well. He was a boy and boys didn't cry ... but... he was still scared for his friend. So he silently shed a couple of tears as well. 

Mikotos heart wrenched painfully as she watched the two children cry in her embrace. It wasn't fair that they had to experience this kind of fear and worry. It wasn't fair that the only thing she could do to lighten their pain was to soothingly rub their backs and whisper calming words.

"I-I miss him so much and I don't know what to do without him! What if that witch was right and he won't ever come back to us! What if Orochimaru-sensei really is responsible for all of this!", Anko cried out.

'Witch?', thought Mikoto confused. 'Who would tell them that their friend would die?'

"Why would Orochimaru-san be responsible for this?", she asked curiously.

Instead of Anko, Genma answered shakily: "Uzumaki-san said that Orochimaru-san told the hokage to send out Kakashi."

Hearing Kakashis name only caused Anko to cry harder and Mikoto desperately thought about something calming to tell the girl.

"I don't think your sensei meant bad, Anko-chan.", Mikoto finally said slowly. "Obviously I don't know him like you do but whenever Kakashi mentioned him, he talked about him with a lot of respect. I always had the impression that the two were friends. You shouldn't judge your sensei without listening to his side, he might has good reason for his actions."

"How can you be so calm?", Anko asked sobbing. 

Mikoto had to smile at the girls innocent question. The poor girl had no idea how angry she was for what the hokage had allowed. 

"Oh believe me, I am not calm. I actually went to the hokage because of this matter and right now I could just punch Orochimaru-san but I have faith in Kakashi. I believe that if he said he will come back, he will do so."

That caused the two children to think. 

"I believe in him too.", whispered Anko as her tears began to dry.

"Me too.", agreed Genma. 

Meanwhile, Hiruzen had just finished a pile of paperwork as his office door was pushed open and one of the gate guards stormed inside.

"What is the meaning of this?", Hiruzen asked annoyed. It was incredible rude to just storm inside the hokage office and he already had a headache from all the stares he received from his citizens, especially Kakashis friends.

"T-The first platoon!", stuttered the agitated guard.

At the mention of this cursed platoon, Hiruzen closed his eyes in pain. He had known it. It had only been a question of time until the first platoon was annihilated. His students would be alright but the other four hundred shinobis would never walk back into Konoha.

Painfully he realised that he'd have to inform Sakumo and Minato about Kakashi's death. Oh, he could already see how it'd turn out. Sakumo would walk right out of his office, straight into the next battlefield. He'd kill as many enemies as possible and then let himself get killed. Minato would be furious and never forgive him for sending out his student when he obviously wasn't ready. Kushina would find out about it and nothing would save Hiruzen from her wrath. Inevitable Kakashis generation would find out and Hiruzen could already see the accusing look Asuma would give him. There had already been a lot of tension in his home ever since he had let Kakashi go. And then there was Mikoto. Hiruzen had no idea what relation Kakashi had to the Uchiha matriarch but it was disastrous. He remembered exactly the time Mikoto had visited him after Kakashi had left.

~Flashback~ 

It was almost night time and Hiruzen was still sitting over his paperwork when suddenly there was a knock on his office door.

He looked up surprised and replied politely: "Come in."

When the door opened Mikoto Uchiha walked in, her step confident and her head held high. The hokage knew immediately that something had crossed the Uchiha matriarch by the fierce look in her eyes and he just prayed for the fool that had angered an Uchiha.

"Mikoto-san, what a surprise to see you this fine evening. How are you and how is little Itachi doing?", Hiruzen asked her smiling.

However, his smile soon faded when the woman's expression hardened. 

Coldly she replied: "I am doing fine just like my son, hokage-sama."

After that Mikoto didn't bother to continue a conversation and instead just stared intently at the hokage. 

Her cold eyes made Hiruzen feel anxious and when the silent became too unbearable, he cleared his throat quietly and asked with a tight smile: "So how may I help you today, Mikoto-san?"

Mikoto's answer came out immediately however it didn't sound rushed, instead it was as if it came from the bottom of her heart.

"Nothing much, hokage-sama. I just wanted to look the man in to the eyes that send out a child into a war."

Hiruzen was speechless and stared incredulously at the black haired woman. 

"Pardon, what did you just say?", he asked stunned.

"I think you understood me just fine hokage-sama. Oh and next time you decide to let another's ten year old child join the first platoon, no matter how talented, please do remember to send your son out as well. I am sure your wife will be ecstatic to hear of her son's accomplishments on the front. He's one of the best in his age, isn't he?", replied Mikoto sweetly. "I wish you a good night, hokage-sama."

She slowly left the office, not a trace of hesitation in her step. Left behind was a perplexed Hiruzen. Confused he decided to let paperwork be paperwork and instead walked over to one of the large windows to look over Konoha.

'What is happening? I don't like to send out children but in the second shinobi world war it was a common move.'

~Flashback End~ 

"They are back, hokage-sama!", exclaimed the guard with pure happiness in his voice. "They are all back!"

"All?", Hiruzen asked perplexed.

"All, hokage-sama."

Faster than ever before, Hiruzen ran out of his office towards Konoha's gates. 

And really, there stood the whole first platoon in all their glory. Four hundred shinobis without a single scratch. At this moment, Hiruzen wanted to cry out in relief. And in front of all of them, stood his students, Jiraiya, Tsunade and Orochimaru. All of them were a little bit dishevelled and tired but none the less alive. 

When Orochimaru saw his sensei coming towards them, he took a step sideways, hence giving a clear view of the silver haired boy behind him. A stone fell from Hiruzens heart as he saw the child alive and standing.

"Thank Kami.", he whispered relieved. 

"Sensei.", greeted Jiraiya him.

"H-How?", stuttered Hiruzen overwhelmed.

Never in history before had there been a battle where Konoha had come out with all of it's shinobis alive. 

"The kid is a genius!", exclaimed Jiraiya excited. "A mind sharper than a Nara, stamina like a bloody Uzumaki, pride like an Uchiha and determination like a true hokage. I have no idea where you hid him the last ten years but with him you'll win every battle."

As if expecting Tsunade to say her team mate had finally gone crazy, Hiruzen looked at the blonde woman. There was just no way that a mere child was the reason the whole platoon was alive. However, all he got from Tsunade was a sad nod. Of course she was grateful that there had been no casualties but she knew what it'd mean for the child. He'd be used as a weapon and be forced to do the dirtiest work. It was too much for a grown man so what would it do to he mind of a young child? It broke her heart just thinking about it. Kakashi had grown at her in the last five days.

Hiruzen now turned to his last student, Orochimaru. The man was always reasonable and would give the most accurate report. Perhaps, Hiruzen had forgotten how close Orochimaru was to the boy because he definitely wasn't prepared for the cold glare he received.

"He won't be a tool nor a weapon. No matter with what you threaten him, he'll only fight the the battles he wants to. He's loyal to Konoha from the bottom of his soul but you will never be able to force him into something he doesn't want to. You'd do well to remember that, sensei.", told Orochimaru his sensei calmly.

Finally, Hiruzen looked at the boy himself and was taken a back by the unapproachable aura around him. The boys posture was still tense as if he thought he'd be attacked in a moment. 

"Orochimaru."

Kakashi's cold voice caused a shiver to run down Hiruzens back. 

"I am going to see Anko."

And as soon as the words had left his mouth he turned around and left. Nobody dared to stop him. 

Kakashi quickly took to the roof tops. He had sensed Anko's presence just outside the Uchiha compound and couldn't wait to see her again. Just before he jumped on another roof, a flashback broke through his walls and he stumbled to the floor. 

~Flashback~

"You are smiling Kakashi.", said Orochimaru teasingly.

Kakashi only rolled his eyes as respond and replied quietly: "You told her where to find me, didn't you?"

Orochimaru grinned slyly but his face soon turned back to serious.

"You would have left without telling her and that would have hurt her more than anything. I don't want my student to get hurt."

"I know. Thanks for that. I didn't think them seeing me off would make me feel so much better.", said the time traveller quietly.

Orochimaru just nodded and continued to catch up to his team mates.

~Flashback End~

Kakashi quickly pushed the memories away, he didn't have time for them now. 

Meanwhile, Hiruzen had taken a random shinobi and asked him for a quick report. He just needed to know what part Kakashi had played in their victory.

"It was amazing, hokage-sama.", said the shinobi excited. "When I first heard about a child joining our platoon I expected to see a trembling boy. A child in tears, wishing to go home. Anything like that, instead I saw a shinobi. The boy stood in the front row like he belonged there. He emitted an aura of confidence and determination and we all felt safe behind him. And then when the first wave came, he, a boy not older than ten, told us to stay put. He and the Sannins eliminated the threat easily and while they were doing it, our army of brave shinobis had no other choice than to watch the spectacle with wide eyes. It wasn't unusual that the Sannins would charge first but for a boy to keep up and even outshine them was unheard of. He slayed mercilessly every enemy in his way and when it was over he didn't have a single scratch on him." 

Hearing this story, Hiruzen was speechless. He hadn't known that Kakashi had played such an important part in that battle. His mind went to all the upcoming fights and how Kakashi could turn them into their favour without much difficulty. The options were endless! Through him Konoha would surely hold their title as the strongest of the five ninja villages for decades. 

In the middle of his thoughts he could suddenly hear Orochimaru's voice.

'You will never be able to force him...'

He frowned at the warning but it stopped him from thinking about the possibilities further. 

'Kakashi is a wild card, we will see what he does next.'

Kakashi had finally reached Anko's location and was currently standing on top of a roof close to Anko. When he caught a glimpse of purple hair he was ready to jump down and greet her but before that could happen he suddenly got a stinging headache. The time traveller held his head in pain and swayed slightly. 

~Flashback~

Kakashi looked absentmindedly into the distance where he could see the first of Iwas' shinobis. He let out a tired sigh and glanced back over his shoulder in the direction of Konoha. After a moment, he forced all his thoughts concerning his precious ones away and pulled up his walls again. If he wanted to succeed in this upcoming battle, he couldn't feel anything.

Than he turned to the other shinobis and said loud enough for everyone to hear: "I want all of you to stay back here. Don't engage into combat, only if an enemy should pass through."

The other shinobis stared at the boy as if he had lost his mind. One of the many shinobis steppes forward to teach the rude boy a lesson, when Orochimaru clapped his hands.

"You heard him. Your orders are to stay back and watch. Kakashi,", he looked the time traveller straight into the eyes, "the Sannins are going to follow your lead."

Jiraiya and Tsunade exchanged perplexed looks but before either of them could say something, Kakashi nodded.

"Don't let them pass you and don't get killed. If you need help, shout."

His orders were short and simple, some may say they were too simple however, throughout the many years Kakashi had spent fighting in a war he had learned that in a full out battle there was no point in making some extravagant plan. In the end, all that would matter was how many shinobis the Sannins could take out. The only meaningful advice he could give the other shinobis was to stay alive and ask for help if needed. 

Without waiting for anymore questions, the time traveller started to run towards the enemy forces. Now it would show if he had returned to his old strength and if he could protect his home this time around. 

For a moment Orochimaru stayed back, captivated by the sight of the silver haired boy before he swiftly followed him into the battle. Just like three years ago he thought he had seen a much older version of the Hatake for a fraction of a second. One that he didn't mind following wherever to and one that would make a terrific hokage. Kakashi always said that his student Naruto would have made a fantastic hokage but Orochimaru couldn't stop thinking that the boy didn't see his own amazing achievements as hokage. 

Tsunade and Jiraiya could only watch helplessly as two of their friends stormed into the battle. Their worry quickly caused them to follow the two insane shinobis.

~Flashback End~

When his headache finally passed, he grimaced. Apparently his mask wasn't as good as before but before he could start to build it stronger he suddenly got tackled to the ground. 

When Kakashi had been caught up in his flashback, Anko had caught a glimpse of silver in the corner of her eye and had agitated turned around to find out what it was. Her heart fluttered when she saw a person standing on the rooftop and without giving it anymore thoughts, she ran up a house wall to get on to the roof. 

'Kakashi-kun!'

She didn't have to look closer, she just knew it was Kakashi. From the way he was standing to the way he was staring into space, an occurrence that had often taken place when she first met him, it was unmistakable Kakashi.

However, Kakashi didn't smile like Anko had expected him to instead he stared at her with empty eyes. Oh, those empty bottomless eyes that Anko could remember so well. He had the same expression that he also had three years ago. It was as if he had isolated himself from the world again. 

Instead of giving him space to get up again, Anko stayed still and stared intensely into Kakashis emotionless eyes.

"Let go of this mask and come back Kakashi-kun.", she whispered urgently. "You are not alone and we miss you. I miss you."

The sincerity in her words let Kakashis mask crumble until it fully shattered and emotions filled his eyes again. Anko quickly went to hug him, knowing that her friend needed her right now. And as Kakashi finally allowed his heart to process all of his actions, nothing could stop him from bursting into tears. 

"I'm sorry.", he sobbed quietly as tremors shook his body.

With tears in her eyes, Anko just held on harder to the silver haired boy. The merciless shinobi that had slayed hundreds and was now crying for his victims. 

"You did well.", she whispered gently.


	15. Chapter 15

7 months.

That's how long Anko or anyone in Konoha hadn't seen Kakashi.

When the silver haired boy had returned from his first deployment, Anko had thought it was over. That he wouldn't have to leave again. That he would stay with her. That he would have time to recover from the terrors he had seen. That he would have a childhood again.

Back then she hadn't known that time was a gift given by the gods. She hadn't known that it was as rare as a rain storm during a drought.

Many said ignorance was a gift and Anko couldn't agree more. Because when reality started to catch up to them, she learned how precious time really was. And all it took to make her realise was one single messenger bird telling Kakashi to meet in the hokage office.

~Flashback~

Kakashi was still crying silently for all the lives he had taken for his village when a messenger bird landed next to them. 

If Anko had known what news the bird brought she wouldn't have hesitated to kill it. 

"Kakashi-kun, isn't that a messenger bird from the hokage?", asked Anko reluctantly. She hated to interrupt Kakashi, he deserved to let it all out in peace. 

Quickly, the time traveller wiped his tears away and forced his emotions aside again. The bird Anko mentioned turned out to really be from the hokage and had a small scroll on his leg. Reluctantly, even though he tried hard to not to show it, he grabbed the scroll and glanced over it. The message wasn't long, it only told him to come to the hokage office immediately, but the timing of the message made Kakashi sick. Couldn't he get just a moment to rest? 

'How stupid of me.' He inwardly face palmed. 'I'm here to atone, I shouldn't ask for a rest.'

"I have to go to the hokage, Anko.", Kakashi said quietly to the purple haired girl that still hung on to him. 

"What? Why?", she asked curiously. Something about that scroll made her stomach churn and most of the time her instincts were correct. 

Kakashi forced a reassuring smile on his lip and patted her hair gently, while wiggling out of her hug. She didn't need to know that he'd probably be send out soon again. 

"I don't know. Hokage-sama probably wants to get my report now, since I didn't stay long enough to give it to him earlier.", he said calmly. 

"Oh."

A small blush grazed Ankos cheeks. He really did keep his promise. 

"I'll come too.", she said determined. There was no way in hell that she would let her best friend out of her eyes for even a second now that he was back. 

"You're sure? It could take a while."

Kakashi didn't want to tell Anko that he didn't want her to come. Whatever the hokage wanted to tell him was probably concerning the war and Anko didn't need to be involved with it anymore than she already was. However, Anko was oblivious to Kakashi's silent wish.

"Yep."

Now it was really hard to keep the small fake smile on his face. Nonetheless, he took Ankos hand and they walked together to the hokage office. 

Kakashi wasn't surprised to see the three Sannins in the hokage office but what let his alarm bells ring, was the fact that Danzo was also there. Wherever Danzo was a disaster wasn't far. The time traveller couldn't believe that he had forgotten the threat that Danzo was to Konoha and swore to deal with the man as soon as possible. 

"Hokage-sama, Orochimaru, Tsunade, Jiraiya, Danzo-sama.", the last word tasted like poison on Kakashis tongue. "What did you want to talk about?"

Hiruzen's hands were folded before him and he had a serious expression on his face. His next words lay heavy on his tongue. 

A deep frown had been on Orochimaru's face ever since his sensei had called Kakashi to his office and when he had seen his student follow Kakashi into the office, he had wanted nothing more than to take the two children and bring the far, far away from here. He didn't know what Hiruzen had to say but for the fact that Danzo and all three Sannins were part of the meeting, he could already tell it wouldn't be nice.

Tsunade as well as Jiraiya, weren't happy to see the purple haired girl join the meeting but for the sole reason that she was Kakashis best friend they decided to stay silent. If the boy wanted her here, who were they to stop them. The child had contributed more than enough to this war, at least from their point of view, he deserved a bit rest.

"Kakashi, Anko. I actually had only requested your presence Kakashi.", said Hiruzen frowning. 

Ankos grip tightened around Kakashis hand and she almost cut of his blood supply. Everything in Kakashi screamed to send Anko away, to meet up with her later again, but ...

"I want her to stay."

At his cold reply, he wasn't the only one to look surprised. Orochimaru was surprised that the time traveller wanted Anko to stay, personally, he wanted his student as far away from Danzo and whatever would happen in here as possible and he had thought that Kakashi would share his opinion. 

Hiruzen scowled inwardly at this answer. What he had to say wasn't meant for children but he couldn't deny Kakashis wish. Not after what he was going to ask of the boy. 

Most surprised from the answer was Kakashi himself. It was uncommon for him to just blur something out that he hadn't thought through. He already wanted to tell the hokage that it was a mistake, but when Anko's grip lightened and a small smile grazed her face, and he couldn't do it anymore. He couldn't hurt her more than he already did. 

"If you wish.", said Hiruzen and sighed quietly. "I have a proposition for you Kakashi. As you might know, I've send out platoons to every border around the land of fire. The platoon in the north has had serious trouble with dealing with Kumo's troupes. According to the last message, Kumo has joined forces with other small villages around the border and our forces are getting over powered quickly. Orochimaru, Tsunade and Jiraiya are already going to join this platoon and are going to move out in an hour."

A quiet gasp escaped Anko when she heard that her sensei would leave immediately. She had been so busy with worrying about Kakashi that the worry about her sensei had moved into the background. He couldn't leave her again, at least not without telling her what part he had played in Kakashi's deployment and spending a couple of hours with her. She wanted to show him how strong she had become.

All three Sannins wore the same frowning expression on their faces. None of them had expected to be send out again immediately. They all wanted to spend time with their loved ones but apparently their sensei had different plans. 

Ignoring the displeased expressions of the people around him, Hiruzen continued.

"I want you to join them as well, Kakashi."

If it was quiet before now it was dead silent. Nobody, well except Danzo, could believe what Hiruzen had just said. 

"Sensei, I know I said the boy was a genius but he is also still a kid.", Jiraiya said incredulously. 

Tsunade put her hands on her side and glared slightly at her sensei. "The gaki is too young to leave Konoha again. For Kamis sake, he hasn't even seen his father yet and you want him gone already?" 

With worry Tsunade thought about Sakumo. How would he react to these kind of news?

"He is a shinobi of Konoha.", said Danzo coldly and was immediately submitted to the burning glare of Tsunade, Jiraiya and Orochimaru. 

"He's not a weapon!", hissed Orochimaru angrily. Didn't he just warn his sensei about using Kakashi as a tool? Was he really so easily manipulated by Danzo?

Hiruzen held up a hand and said: "Quiet, all of you."

His eyes wandered to the silver haired boy that had been silent the entire time.

"You have a choice Kakashi. This is something not many shinobi have but because of your age I am willing to give you the choice to stay in Konoha and maybe be deployed at a later time or to move out immediately and join the Sannins on the front line. I am sorry I can't give you more time to decide but the matter is urgent."

Now every eye was on the silver haired boy. 

When the hokage had told them what he had planned with Kakashi, all colour had left Anko's face and right now she was a trembling mess. Could their hokage, the leader of her village, the one so many people looked up to, really be so cold-hearted as to send Kakashi away again? Hesitantly Anko turned slightly to look into Kakashi's eyes. The cold, emotionless expression in them brought her to the brink of crying. 

"P-Please Kakashi-kun. I-I didn't try to stop you last time but now I'm begging you. Please don't leave.", she whispered shakily, her hand gripping Kakashis arm harder and harder. "You don't know how hard the last couple of days were for me, for Genma, for your father and for everyone that cares about you. Your father needs you. You should have seen him, he's broken without you. Please, if not for me or any other of your friends, do it for your father, your family! He can't loose you! None of us can!"

Anko tried not to cry right here and then. If she didn't get through to Kakashi, she would loose him again! His eyes had told her that he had already made his decision. 

The girl's trembling voice brought tears to Tsunades eyes and Hiruzen, Jiraiya and Orochimaru looked away upset. 

Kakashi looked sadly at Anko. He should have listened to his head, telling him to send her away earlier. She shouldn't have listened to that. It would have been so much easier to just leave quietly while everybody was still celebrating the first platoon's return. 

"I am so sorry, Anko, but this is war.", he said calmly and started to gently peel her hands from his arm. "There are so many people out there that have a family to return to, if I can help them by taking their place I can't deny the opportunity hokage-sama has given me. I know of the risk that comes with being on the front line, I really do. But if I can help a parent to return to their child alive, don't you think it's worth it? I know i do and I know i hurt you and everyone else and I'm terrible sorry for that, but all I want for you is to be safe."

Now he only held Ankos hand lightly in his own.

Hearing Kakashi talking about his choice, Anko couldn't take it anymore. Five days not knowing about the well being of her best friend had almost driven her insane and now he would leave for who knows how long again?

Pulling her hand away from the silver haired boy harshly and holding it defensively in front of her, Anko took a step away from him.

"You are selfish, Kakashi-kun! So, so selfish. You say you do it for us, the people you love, but you don't want to see that your actions are killing us. You might protect us from physical harm but did you ever think about our mental well being? But do what you have to do, save the lives of millions, become a legend but don't forget the pain and anguish you're causing us. Don't forget the tears we will shed day for day, night for night. Don't forget the many nights we will stay awake because we're too scared to sleep, in fear of waking up and hearing you left us behind once and for all. Don't forget that all of your actions have consequences, even if your not the one to suffer them.", snarled Anko whilst crying shamelessly. 

It was all too much for a nine year old child, far too much. 

Watching the events unfold powerlessly, Orochimaru could do nothing but listen to Kakashis heart crack. Obviously, the time traveller was aware of what his precious people had to go through, but hearing it from one of them personally made it just that more painful and Ankos words had hit Kakashi hard.

The Snake Sannin wanted nothing more than to protect the broken silver haired boy from Ankos hurtful words but at the same time he didn't want to stop Anko from letting it all out. So he had to watch silently as two of his precious people continued to hurt each other. 

Meanwhile, Anko had stopped shouting and was just crying her heart out. Not only because she was scared and angry but also because she regretted her words. Yes, from her point of view Kakashi was selfish but she also knew he did it for the right reasons. What she had said wasn't fair to him but he had to know how much they were all hurting whilst he was away. 

Kakashi, seeing that Anko had stopped shouting, decided that it was best to leave now. He didn't want to cause more pain to his friend and he also didn't want to see another person breaking down when he'd tell them he was leaving again. He'd see them when the war was over and he could stay in Konoha ... eventually. 

Standing in front of the huge office doors, ready to push them open and leave, Kakashi looked back once and gave Anko one last pained smile.

"Don't worry Anko, I'll still keep my promise."

Whilst he stepped outside, he could hear Anko cry out: "You arrogant, selfish jerk! Just get out of here and make us proud. You hear me? Go and be a legend!"

And even though her words were said in hurt and anger, Kakashi could hear the true meaning behind them.

'We are all so proud of you, even though it hurts.'

When the doors fell closed, Anko fell to the ground and just cried. 

Kakashi waited patiently by the gates of Konoha of the three Sannins. They should be there in a couple of minutes. When the three arrived, they didn't exchange any words and just left Konoha silently. 

When Kakashi risked a look back, he saw a single person standing on top of Konoha's gates and his heart beat faster. 

Sakumo.

'He must have listened to the conversation in the hokage office.', thought Kakashi and a small smile grazed his cold face when he realised that Sakumo had accepted his decision. 

And even though he was far away, he could understand the words Sakumo shouted as if he'd be right next to him.

"I am so proud of you Kakashi."

And although the four shinobis went farther and farther away, the man known as the White Fang never let his eyes waver from the retreating figure of his only child. 

~ Flashback End~

Anko didn't like to remember this day, she had said things that had hurt her best friend and she still needed to apologise. 

Deep in thoughts, she walked through Konoha towards the Forest of Death where she had met Kakashi for the first time.

Walking through the streets she could hear the quiet conversations around her. One had caught her interest and she listened intently. 

"Have you heard?"

"No, what?"

"Apparently, the Silver Reaper has won another battle all by himself."

'Silver Reaper, huh?', Anko thought, smiling slightly. 

Silver Reaper, that was the name Kakashi had been given by Iwa and Kumo. Wherever he went, destruction and death would follow. He was the death reaper on the battle field.

Anko continued to walk away with a smile. 

When she was in front of the Forest of Death the sun had began to set. Suddenly, Sakumo appeared before Anko and she wanted to greet him happily but something about his presence made her stomach clench in fear. 

Maybe it were the dark bags under his tired eyes or his sickly pale skin colour or the fresh tears on his face. Whatever it was, it made her want to throw up.

"He's back.", Sakumo whispered hoarsely, eyes not averting from the young girl.

Happiness and relief filled Anko and she smiled brightly. But then her smile became smaller and smaller until it turned into a terrified expression. Her hands covered her mouth to hold back the screams and sobs that wanted to escape her throat.

Reality had caught up to her.

'Kakashi-kun, didn't come to me.'

"Where is he?", she asked trembling.

"Hospital."

And that was all Anko needed to turn around and to run to Konohas' Hospital.


	16. Chapter 16

The first thing Kakashi saw when he opened his eyes was white.

It took him a moment to realise that he was in a hospital room but as soon as he did, he abruptly sat up and got ready to leave. His fear and hatred for hospitals hadn't changed from his past life. They were still a symbol of loss for him and there was no way in hell that he would stay any longer than absolutely necessary in one. Not even Sakura had been able to keep him in a hospital for more than an hour and that was already considered as a miracle. 

His eyes travelled down to his hand where an IV-needle was stuck and without wasting more time, he pulled it out. The time traveller only spared a quick glance over his body to assess the extent of his injuries roughly. Most of his body was wrapped in bandages and his left arm was in a cast, meaning that whoever healed him was not as good as Tsunade or Sakura. He grimaced annoyed when he remembered who caused all of this.

'Nobu Asagi.' 

Deciding to assess his injuries later on more closely, Kakashi walked towards the open window. He didn't care that he currently wore only a hospital gown, nobody would see him anyway, he just really needed to leave.

"Kakashi-kun!"

The sudden voice startled him and he almost fell out of the window when he lost his balance.

'Damn, I really let down my guard.'

Grimacing he turned around to greet Anko. 

"Hi Anko."

Angrily the purple haired girl put her hands on her hips and stomped with her foot.

"Don't you 'Hi' me, Kakashi-kun! You..."

Suddenly tears ran down her face and her knees buckled causing her to fall to the floor and cry into her hands. Kakashi was quick to pull her in a close hug and let her cry into his chest. Anko grabbed his shirt, holding tighter on to him. She just needed to make sure he was real and not just an illusion.

Unknowingly she pressed onto one of Kakashis not fully healed burns and the time traveller couldn't hold in the pained sound. 

Immediately, Anko jumped away from him and stared at him scared and worried. 

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I hurt you, I'm so sorry...", she started to ramble in panic. 

"No you didn't. I'm fine.", Kakashi said reassuringly and walked to her to hug her again. Even if it was only for a minute, he already missed Ankos warmth. 

This time, Anko just loosely wrapped her arms around his torso so she wouldn't hurt him again.

The two didn't need to speak, the silence they shared was enough. It was enough to just hold on to the other because both knew that it was exactly what they needed in this moment. Just hearing the heart beat of the other to know they were together again.

Someone cleared his throat loudly causing the two children to jump away surprised. 

Minato together with Obito and Rin stood in the room and were witnesses of the private moment the two had shared.

It made the blonde Jounin very happy to see that Kakashi had people that cared about him other than his team and his father. Obito was mostly shocked that Kakashi gave hugs to other people astound at the two. It was still very weird to see Kakashi so emotional but the Uchiha was also very glad for his team mate.

The only one that didn't have positive thoughts about the scene they just walked into was Rin. The brunette hid her balled hands behind her back but she could hardly stop herself from glaring at the purple haired girl. 

Kakashi was hers! Why was it that that girl was always around him?

Jealousy ran through her body when she thought back to all the times that girl had taken her place.

What was so special about her, that Kakashi always went to her? Why was it that he said goodbye to that purple haired wench but not to her, his team mate? Why was it that Anko always came first?

When Kakashi and Anko realised who interrupted their hug, both of them blushed, Anko more so than Kakashi. The poor girl could rival Kushinas hair.

"Sensei, guys.", said Kakashi embarrassed. "What are you doing here?"

"What we're doing here? Are you stupid Bakashi?", shouted Obito incredulously.

Minato gently hit the back of the Uchihas' head to make him shut up and smiled softly at his other student.

"We are here to check on you Kakashi. You gave us a real shock when Hokage-sama told me you're in the hospital."

Minato couldn't stop himself from giving the silver haired boy a worried look and quickly checking his body fro injuries. He hadn't had time to ask a nurse about Kakashis status yet but he would definitively do it later.

"Oh.", Kakashi was speechless. 

He was still not used to have people care about his well being. Obviously, his students had asked continuously about his well being, especially in the later years of the war but they all had been so busy fighting that there hadn't been much time to check up on each other or wait for someone to wake up in a hospital.

"Thanks, I guess.", he murmured overwhelmed and scratched his neck embarrassed. 

There was an uncomfortable silence between the five shinobis until Anko gently touched Kakashi's hand.

"I'm going to find Genma. See you later Kakashi-kun.", she said quietly and left the room but not without glancing warily at Obito and Rin. She remembered quite well how Obito had hurt Kakashi a couple of years ago and although they had moved on, she was still a tad bit worried that the Uchiha would hurt him again. And Rin... She just felt a bit uneasy leaving Kakashi with her. 

A part of Kakashi wanted to hold on to her but he ignored it and turned his attention to the three other people in the room.

"So... how are you Kakashi?", asked Minato in an attempt to break the ice.

Kakashi shrugged his shoulders and answered nonchalant: "Alright. Still a bit sore and I didn't have time to check my injuries yet but otherwise I'm fine."

"Oh god Kakashi-kun! You should still be in bed! Did Mitarashi wake you up?", screeched Rin worried and latched onto the silver haired boy. 

Unfortunately she held on to one of Kakashi's open injuries causing a sharp pain to shot through his body. Biting his tongue to stop himself from wincing, Kakashi tried to escape Rin's clutches. He wouldn't show them that he was hurt, he had to appear strong. However, his attempts were futile and they only caused Rin to tighten her grip and press harder on to the wound.

"Rin, I'm fine. You can let go.", Kakashi said through clenched teeth.

But Rin wouldn't have it and pushed him towards the hospital bed.

"Nonsense. You have to rest. Now lay down and relax, otherwise I will tie you on to that hospital bed."

"Rin!", Kakashi hissed panic-stricken but it was already too late and she had pressed him onto the bed. 

It was meant to be a sign of care, to show her worry, but in that moment her actions triggered some long forgotten memories that Kakashi had desperately pushed as far back as possible. And when his body froze up and his eyes glazed over, all hell broke loose.

~Flashback~ 

When he woke up, all he could see was darkness. His head was pounding, his body was sore and ... he couldn't feel a sliver of his chakra. 

'Okay, keep calm. Don't loose your cool now.', thought Kakashi and tried to calm his hectic breathing.

'What can you see, feel, smell, hear?'

He thought back to the What-to-do-when-kidnapped-lessons he had taken in the T&I corps when he first joined ANBU. 

'I still can't see anything meaning that I'm probably blindfolded.'

Kakashi pulled his arms and legs slightly to assess his movement only to quickly stop when cold steel cut into his skin.

'I'm tied up chains. My movement is minimal to non-existence. I'm laying on a rough material, feels a bit like a cloth, and my hands are tied to something cold most likely a metal frame. Maybe a bed or table.'

He then slowed his breathing to make as little as possible noise.

'I can hear... breathing, somebody is here as well!'

Kakashi had never been more grateful for his Hatake-genes that enhanced his sense of smell and hearing. And he had also spent enough time with his pack to know how to use them to their fullest extent. 

The metallic and uncomfortable smell of fresh blood rose in his nose causing him to scrunch his nose in disgust. 

'Blood. Probably from when the chains cut into my wrists. There's also the aseptic smell you have in hospitals.'

Suddenly his blindfold was harshly pulled from his head and a bright light attacked his eyes. Not daring to close them, Kakashi looked around frantically to get an idea of his whereabouts as fast as possible. 

He was clearly in an interrogation room, however, this one didn't look like a dungeon but rather like a hospital room. Not that it made his situation any better. Actually, his fear of hospitals only increased his desire to escape. 

"Welcome to my humble kingdom, Kakashi Hatake, the Copy ninja and 3rd Division Commander of the Allied Shinobi Forces.", hissed a voice and Kakashis eyes immediately turned to where it was coming from.

A figure clothed in dark ninja clothes and a dark purple coat with grey hair and round glasses strode confidently in the middle of the room.

"Kabuto.", sneered Kakashi hatefully.

"Oh my, what did I do to deserve such hatred? Perhaps betraying Konoha and taking your lovely student to Orochimaru-sama? Tell me, how is dear Sasuke-kun? Oh and what about that cute little medic of yours? Sakura's her name, right? And not to forget the nine-tail. Has Naruto finally learned to control its power? Aren't they all in the Land of Rivers right now?", asked Kabuto smirking.

'How did he know where they ate?! It should have been a secret mission!', thought Kakashi panic-stricken. 

From the outside he didn't show any reaction other than staring bored at Kabuto.

"You aren't really interested in holding a conversation, are you Kakashi?"

Kakashi regarded him with a closed-eyed smile. Of course he wasn't interested in holding a conversation with the enemy. He wasn't Naruto for Kami's sake. Not that he blamed his blonde student but sometimes he started talking with his enemies in the most ridiculous situations.

"If that's going to be the case, then ..." 

Kabutos' fist hit him unexpected and he spit out blood.

'Damn bastard.' 

"Oh Kakashi, you're hurt but don't worry you're already in a hospital and I'm going to take good care of you.", sneered Kabuto and stepped closer to Kakashi whilst holding chakra scalpels in his hand. 

Kakashi warily watched Kabuto's blue shimmering hand but he couldn't move away. Leaning over Kakashi, Kabuto started to make skin deep cuts all over his body. Soon they were all bleeding profusely, turning the once white hospital bed red.

"So Kakashi, should we come to the reason why you're here?", Kabuto asked smirking and stood back to view his work.

"Bastard.", hissed Kakashi disgusted.

"Ah ah ah, don't be so rude.", said Kabuto and punched Kakashis face again.

Kakashi's head fell to the side from the force Kabuto had put into his punch. The bastard had kept his chakra scalpels out and Kakashi now had a couple of deep cuts on the left side of his face. 

"Anyway, I want to know where your headquarter is.", said Kabuto bored whilst inspecting his finger nails.

"Go to hell."

Smirking, Kabuto turned around and opened the door to let in two sturdy shinobis, Kinkuka and Ginkaku the Gold and Silver Brothers.

"Let's have some fun, guys.", smirked Kabuto.

Hours later, Kakashi couldn't tell what hurt more: his broken bones or his bleeding cuts. All he knew was that when he escaped from this place and Kabuto ever crossed his path again, he'd return the lovely hospitality tenfold.

"Are you still not telling me where your headquarter is?", asked Kabuto annoyed.

"Ma, your friends are nothing compared to Tsunade-sama's or Sakura's punches.", replied Kakashi tiredly.

"Oh is that so?", asked Kabuto interested. "In that case how about we try something new?"

Kabuto signed the other shinobis to stand back and walked out of the room. It wasn't long before he came back with a machine next to him. Giving Kakashi a sadistic smile he conected him to the machine.

"One last chance. Where is your headquarter?" 

"Did you know that your hair colour makes you look old? I'm sorry to say that not everyone can pull of silver hair, although I must say yours is more a grey... Argh!"

Kakashis body felt like it was on fire and he threw himself around to try to escape the pain. When it stopped Kabuto glared furiously at the panting silver haired Jounin.

"I'm going to ask you the same question again and if you know what's good for you, you better answer it. Otherwise I'm going to turn on that lovely machine here again and 150 Volts are going to go through your body again. Where is the headquarter of the Allie Shinobi Forces?"

'There is no way I'm going to survive more than five of these shocks if he keeps them at 150 Volts.', Kakashi thought urgently of a plan to escape.

"Well?"

"Did you know that Orange is so not your colour? It makes you ... ARGH!"

"200 Volts, Kakashi. Where is the headquarter?"

"In Icha-Icha-Paradise Volume 4, Mary cheats on Tony and ...AARRGGHH!"

Electricity ran through Kakashi, tearing his body apart and he could do nothing but scream from the top of his lungs. Forgotten was his pride as shinobi, forgotten was his determination to not let them see his pain and forgotten was his strong will to stay strong. All that remained was the blazing pain through his body.

"You are weak Kakashi. Tell me what I want to know and this will end. Where is the headquarter?", Kabuto asked and laughed crazily.

Finally, he stopped the electricity and Kakashi panted desperately for air. The electricity caused burn marks all over his body and he started to cough up blood.

"Never.", he hissed breathlessly.

He would never betray Konoha or the Allied Shinobi Forces. He wouldn't give in, after all he was Kakashi Hatake, Son of the White Fang, Student of the Fourth Hokage, Sensei of Team 7 and Commander of the 3rd Division of the Allied Shinobi Forces. He was known as the man that had copied over 1000 Jutsus and he would never give in to someone like Kabuto.

"Hahaha as you wish."

And back was the electricity. Kakashi threw his body from side to side but no matter how hard he pulled his arms wouldn't get free.

"AAARRRGGGHHH!"

Kabuto watched in bewilderment as the silver haired shinobi trashed around and cried out in pain. It was incredible how resistant he was and how strong his loyalty to his village was. However, as admiring as it was, it wouldn't save him. In a couple of minutes Kakashis insides would be fried and the Copy ninja would be no more.

'Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, I'm so sorry. I don't think I can hold on for much longer.', with regreet he remebered his students and how his death would hurt them.

"Kabuto.", Zetsu walked in and ignored Kakashis trashing body. "You can continue your torture later. Right now we need you to plan the next attack."

With a loud annoyed sigh, Kabuto turned of the electricity and watched the silver haired man slump and lay lifeless on his hospital bed. 

"You are lucky. We get to play another round later on."

As soon as the door fell close Kakashi tried to slowly move his fingertips. It was painful but he continued to pull weakly on his restrictions. He needed to get out! There had to be a way to flee from this place before Kabuto came back and finished what he started. Kakashi winced in pain as the cold chains cut deeper into his wrists.

'Need...to...get...out...'

"Kakashi, my youthful rival."

'Kami, I'm already delusional. I could swear I heard Guys voice.'

"Taichou."

'Now I'm also hearing Yamato.'

"Oh god, Yamato, I found him! We have to get him out of this un-youthful place before his flame of youth extinguishes for ever! Hey, Kakashi, come on. Look at me."

His body got gently shaken and he forced his eyes open.

"G...Guy...", He whispered hoarsely when his tired eyes focused on the horrible green colour that could only belong to Guy's jumpsuit.

"We are getting you out, my rival. Just hang on to your youthfulness!"

Kakashis body got picked up from the uncomfortable hospital bed and he felt himself lifted on to someones back. 

"Guy-san, we need to leave. Kabuto will be back soon.", said Yamato worried.

When the three were outside and Yamato and Guy started to ran back to headquarters, Kakashi slowly slipped into darkness while his mind continuously let him hear Kabutos crazy laughter. 

~Flashback End~

The torture was something that Kakashi had never told anyone and after Yamato and Guy had saved him, he forced them to promise not to say a thing about it. As a result, Kakashi never got the therapy he'd needed after a torture like this. There just hadn't been time to deal with something so insignificant. At least that's what Kakashi tried to believe.

So when Rin triggered that memory it was only normal that he had thrown her across the room and jumped as far away from everyone as possible and let loose a huge amount of chakra.

Minato reacted immediately and grabbed his two students and pushed them out of the room before barricading the door. The amount of chakra Kakashi released resembled that of a Sannin and it made Minato realise that he had no idea what his student was capable of.

"Kakashi, take deep breaths. Listen to my voice. You are in Konoha and you are safe."

The Jounin sensei remembered vaguely what his friend Inoichi once told him about patients with panic attacks.

'Try to make them talk to you.'

"I want you to tell me the people that are important to you.", he said calmly and took a step towards the trembling boy.

"Dad..."

"Good Kakashi. Who else?"

"Sensei, Obito, Rin..."

Minato took another step and saw relieved that Kakashi had started to relax his body.

"Anko, Genma, Orochimaru, Itachi..."

The Jounin took another step towards the boy.

"Asuma, Guy, Kurenai..."

His breathing calmed down and Minato was now directly in front of him.

"Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura."

Kakashi stopped trembling and Minato didn't waste time and pulled him into a strong hug. 

"I'm so glad you're back.", said Minato and smiled wobbly.

He didn't know what he'd do if his students hadn't returned. 

"Hmmm.", agreed Kakashi and moved closer to his sensei. It was so good to have him around. He hadn't realised how much he had missed him.

Minato looked sadly over Kakashis bandaged body, it was his fault that this happened to his student.

"You know, Kakashi, I'm really sorry."

The time travellers' eyes widened surprised.

"Huh?", he asked confused.

There was nothing Minato-sensei had to be sorry for. 

"It's my fault that you are injured now. If I would have fought harder seven months ago, Orochimaru would have never taken you to the front lines and none of this would have happened.", Minato said guiltily. 

Hearing the sorrow and guilt in his sensei's voice, Kakashi broke free from the hug and looked the blonde directly into the eyes. Minato had so much in common with Naruto, it was almost painful. Both blamed themselves for things that were out of their control.

"Sensei, that's not true. I wanted to join the front lines and there was nothing you could have done to stop me. Even if hokage-sama hadn't allowed it, I would have still joined one way or another. It was actually Orochimaru that asked me to overthink my decision and stay here, so he really isn't to blame for anything as are you, sensei. I'm old enough to know what I can handle.", said Kakashi. 

He wanted to say more to make absolutely sure that Minato didn't blame himself for something that was his own choice but the grief-stricken look in Minato's azure blue eyes rendered him speechless.

"You are so grown up, Kakashi.", the blonde whispered sorrowful. "I don't know what happened to you."

'I had to see you all die...'

"And even though you are no longer the boy I once knew, I'll always be there for you. If you ever need me, no matter what, than I'll be there.", Minato smiled sadly and it brought Kakashi close to tears to see his sensei, one of the strongest men he knew, so upset. "I am so proud that I got the chance to be your sensei even if it was only for a short time. You are an incredible shinobi, Kakashi."

"T-Thank you, sensei.", whispered Kakashi touched. 

A knock interrupted their conversation. Minato, knowing as good as Kakashi who that chakra signature belonged to, took it as his sign to leave. But before he walked out of the room he ruffled gently Kakashis hair and smiled at him.

"Sakumo.", he greeted the man that waited patiently outside of Kakashis hospital room. 

"Minato.", said man nodded politely at the blonde Jounin before he walked towards his son.

And only after Minato left the hospital, he realised that he didn't recognise the last three names Kakashi had mentioned.

The first thing Sakumo did when he saw his son sitting on the floor was to pull him into a hug. Then he checked him for injuries and then he hugged him again.

"Thank kami you're alive!", he whispered over and over again. 

Relieved Kakashi leaned into his father's hug. He was still alive. He didn't leave him. That had been one of Kakashis greatest worries when he had been on the front lines. The amount of blame and hate his father received from the villagers had decreased in the last couple of years but that was mainly because he was around to threaten them. Kakashi had been afraid that when he was gone, the villagers would use that opportunity and Sakumo would end up committing suicide just like in his last life. 

"I'm okay, Dad.", whispered Kakashi reassuringly. 

"I know.", Sakumo sighed and pushed his son a bit back to have a better look at him. "I knew you'd come back."

That was something Kakashi didn't expect his father to say. If he knew that Kakashi would come back than why was he so opposed to him leaving in the first place?

Sakumo, seeing the confused look in his sons eyes, sighed once more.

"Your my child Kakashi and even if you're strong enough to fight in a war, the things you're going to see will change you. I never wanted you to experience these things because they are going to be a part of you. There have been many strong shinobis that fought in a war and didn't get killed but did the honours themselves later on because they couldn't deal with what they had witnessed. I'm scared for you, okay?"

Kakashi smiled slightly and hugged his father again.

"As long as I have you, I'm okay.", he said quietly. 

"Than I'm going to be here for you forever.", replied Sakumo deeply touched. To ensure his son's life, he'd do anything. And if that meant to go up to the Mizukage and ask for one of the famous seven swords of the Mist, he'd do just that.

A cough told the two Hatakes that they were no longer alone and they unwillingly broke the hug to turn to the newcomer.

"Hokage-sama.", said both Hatakes simultaneously. 

"Good evening, Sakumo, Kakashi. How are you feeling Kakashi?", asked Hiruzen friendly which was a huge contrast to the cold stares the Clan heads send into Kakashis direction.

"I am fine, hokage-sama. What did I do that not only are you here but all of Konohas Clan heads as well?", asked Kakashi curiously.

Hiruzen smiled slightly at the curious question from the boy and answered: "Nothing bad, I assure you. We all are just curious to hear what happened. The team that brought you here, already gave us a very detailed report but we'd like to hear the story from your side."

Sakumo tensed visibly and scowled at the other clan heads. It was uncommon that all of them were here, normally it was only the hokage and Shikaku Nara who came to get the reports from hospitalised shinobis. It had to be something serious when all of them came.

Kakashi shrugged his shoulders nonchalant and answered calmly: "It's pretty simple. When the Sannins and I joined the 3rd platoon in the north, we quickly overpowered Kumos forces. After that, the 3rd platoon got asked for reinforcement from the 5th platoon that had been fighting on Iwas border in the north-west. So Orochimaru and I along with a team of five shinobis followed their request and joined the 5th platoon. Tsunade and Jiraiya stayed with the 3rd platoon as far as I'm aware. On our way there we ran into some fights with the smaller countries. They had set up traps and in the end it was only Orochimaru, three out of the five shinobis and I that arrived at the 5th platoon."

The time travellers face hardened when he remembered the deaths of the two shinobis. He couldn't save them no matter how hard he had tried. The whole environment had been covered in explosions seals and when one of the shinobis triggered one of the seals, everything in a radius of two miles blow up. He had only been fast enough to grab two shinobis and shunshinn out of the area. Orochimaru had followed his lead and had taken the third member of their team. The other two had been to far in and it impossible to get to them. The whole thing reeked of Iwa shinobis. It should have been their first hint but both, Orochimaru as well as Kakashi, had been blind to it. 

Kakashi took a deep breath and continued.

"When we finally reached the 5th platoon we fought Iwa's forces for almost two months. After we won and had secured our position, the 5th platoon decided to go along the border of the Land of Earth. So we destroyed Iwas' camps one after another. At the point where the Land of Earth crossed borders with the Land of Fire and the Land of Canyons we were ambushed by their combined forces. It all went okay until Iwa's special forces joined the fight."

Hiruzen grimaced at the mention of these forces. He had already been informed about their intervention from the team that had brought Kakashi back but he hadn't informed the clan heads about it. Therefore they all looked rather sick when Kakashi brought them up.

"You don't mean...", asked Inoichi hesitantly.

Kakashi sighed and nodded. 

"The Explosion Corps lead by Nobu Asagi joined the battle. From there on out everything ran out of control and the platoon got split into two. You know how strong they are and that the ordinary shinobi doesn't stand a chance against them. So on my orders the members of the 5th platoon that were with me, left the battle ground to join Orochimaru and their General while I went up against the Explosion Corps."

A murmur went through the rows of the clan heads. What Kakashi had told them was equivalent to a suicide mission and none of them could really believe that a mere child could survive a fight against the members of the Explosion Corps. Sakumo didn't know whether he should be proud of his son for taking on the whole bloody Explosion Corps be himself or whether he should strangle him for being so stupid. He decided to just pull Kakashi closer to him and put his arm around his sons shoulder.

Kakashi grimaced when he remembered the fight. He hated the Explosion Release Kekkei Genkai that almost every member of the Explosion Corps seemed to have.

"I managed to hold them off for a while and injure most of their members until Nobu went directly against me. I had been so caught up in our fight that one of the other members managed to caught me of guard with an explosion. From there on out it was one explosion after another. Soon after that Orochimaru joined the fight. Apparently they hadn't expected a Sannin to join the fight because they soon fled the fight. That is all I remember. I guess that Orochimaru send a small team to bring me back to Konoha and stayed with the 5th platoon."

When Kakashi ended his report everyone had bewildered looks on their faces. What he had told so carelessly was for most shinobis only a dream. And it only encouraged Hiruzen in his decision.

"I believe I'm talking for all of us when I tell you, your accomplishments on the front line are amazing.", said Hiruzen. He took another drag from his pipe and looked at everyone in this room again. "I hereby promote you to the rank of Jounin Kakashi."

A small smile grazed the time travellers face and Sakumo squeezed his shoulder in congratulation.

"Thank you, hokage-sama." 

"But that is not everything.", Hiruzen watched satisfied as Kakashi looked confused at him. "I also promote you to Commander of the 7th platoon. Is there anyone that questions my decision?"

The question was mostly for the clan heads and partly for Sakumo but none of them said anything. They all had seen what the boy was capable of and were glad to have him on their side. 

"Good, I thought so.", said Hiruzen happily.

"Thank you hokage-sama.", said Kakashi overwhelmed. 

'Platoon 7,huh?'

"You'll meet your shinobis on the eastern front in two days, understood Commander Hatake?", told Hiruzen the silver haired boy. It was sad but he couldn't give the boy more time to rest. Tsunade would probably strangle him if she found out that he send an injured shinobi out but that was just war.

"Understood.", replied Kakashi calmly. 

Hiruzen nodded satisfied. He had made the right the decision to promote the child to commander, he was sure of it.

"Good. In that case, I and the other clan heads will leave now. There is somebody that is quite desperate to talk to you, I think.", said Hiruzen and opened the door.

In front of it stood a bright blushing Anko. She had listened to everything and was inwardly panicking. 

"Hello hokage-sama.", she greeted the man embarrassed.

Hiruzen just smiled at her and left Kakashis hospital room with the other clan heads. 

"Kakashi-kun...", Anko walked hesitantly towards the silver haired boy.

"Don't worry Anko, I learned from my mistakes. I'm not going to leave without saying goodbye this time.", said Kakashi and smiled reassuringly at her.

And that was all Anko wanted to hear. She had realised that she would never be able to stop Kakashi from joining the war but at least she would get the chance to say goodbye.


	17. Chapter 17

Two days had past in the blink of an eye and suddenly Kakashi found himself in front of Konohas Gates surrounded by his friends and family. Next to him was a young Jounin that would accompany him to his new platoon. The Jounin, Tobias Uchiha, found it intriguing to see how popular a little 11 year old boy could be. He had only heard stories about the boy called Kakashi Hatake and he was curious to see the Silver Reaper in action.

Kakashi wasn't oblivious to the tension that surrounded his precious people but he couldn't do anything against it. They probably hadn't realised it but they had split into three groups. On the one side stood Kushina and Rin and on the other side were Anko, Genma and Mikoto with Itachi. The rest, so his father, Minato, Obito, Asuma, Kurenai, Guy and the hokage stood awkwardly in the middle. 

"Well, I think it's time for you to go, Kakashi.", Minato broke the uncomfortable silence and awkwardly went to hug his student. 

The time traveller froze when he felt something wet drop on his shirt.

'Kami, Minato-sensei is ... crying?'

When Minato started to pull away from the hug, Kakashi's arms wrapped around him and hugged him back.

"Stay strong Kakashi.", whispered Minato hoarsely.

Even though Kakashi wasn't his own flesh and blood, the blonde saw the silver haired boy as his son and there was an in-explainable part in him that wanted to protect the boy at all cost. 

"I will. I promise the war won't go on for too long.", relied Kakashi and pulled away from his sensei, leaving him to think about what he had said.

Next were his friends Asuma, Guy and Kurenai. There wasn't much they could say since neither of the three knew how to handle this situation and so they just gave Kakashi a quick hug and whispered a goodbye. 

Meanwhile, Obito stood awkwardly on the side and tried to hold back his tears. Most of the time Kakashi had been an arrogant ass but then he had changed. And Obito genuinely liked the new Kakashi. He was kind, sometimes he was still cold and harsh but he cared. 

Kakashi had helped him with his training, something that he didn't need to do but he still did it. And even after Obito had acted like a real bastard and had hurt Kakashi, the Hatake still continued to train him. It was because of him that Obito was stronger than the ordinary genin. 

Obito was an emotional guy and the fear of losing not just someone but his team mate and friend caused him to let a few tears slip. He hastily rubbed his eyes before someone could see them when he suddenly felt an arm wrap around his shoulder. Stealing a glance sideways, he saw Kakashi smiling sadly at him. 

Embarrassed, Obito mumbled: "I wasn't crying! I just got some dirt in my eyes."

Kakashi quickly looked around, fortunately the others weren't paying attention to them, and whispered: "I'm sad too."

To say, Obito was shocked would be an understatement. It was more than unexpected to hear the Kakashi Hatake say that. Obito had always thought that the Hatake was proud to be the youngest Commander ever, that he didn't take into account how others felt about it and if he was scared or sad that he would never admit it.

"Be careful when you're out for missions, Obito. Please, if you ever need help don't hesitate to use the seal I gave you."

Usually, Obito would have thought that Kakashi didn't trust into his abilities but the scared and haunted look in his eyes, showed him that the silver haired boy was just worried.

And so the Uchiha didn't hesitate to reply: "Okay, but you have to be careful too."

The time traveller squeezed his shoulder one last time before stepping back and giving him a small smile.

~Flashback~

"Who were your teammates, Kakashi-sensei?", Naruto asked excited and looked at his sensei with large eyes.

Even Sakura stopped ogling Sasuke and said Uchiha stopped brooding and glanced curiously at the Hatake.

Narutos question had caught Kakashi of guard and had brought back beautiful but painful memories of a time long passed.

"My teammates? ", he asked lazily and stared into the sky.

"Hmmm, there was Rin Nohara. She was a medic and a very kind girl. She was the glue that held our team together."

"Oh wow, that sounds a lot like you, Sakura-chan.", exclaimed Naruto and bounced around.

In return, Sakura shouted annoyed: "Shut up Baka! I want to hear about senseis second teammate."

Kakashi smiled secretly under his mask and his hand automatically went to his covered eye.

"My second teammate was Obito Uchiha. He was an idiot but I also thought of him as ... my brother."

~Flashback End~

"I'll see you soon,... brother.", said Kakashi smiling and walked away, leaving a perplexed Obito behind. 

The next one he had to say goodbye too were Mikoto and Itachi. The Uchiha matriarch had waited patiently until Kakashi had time for Itachi and her. However, Itachi had fallen asleep while waiting. 

"Mikoto.", Kakashis voice broke her out her thoughts.

"How are you, Kakashi?", she asked gently and watched his expression attentively. 

Often times, Kakashis eyes told a different story than his words and if you weren't careful, you wouldn't see the lies. However, what Mikoto didn't know was that Kakashi didn't even try to lie to her anymore because the gorgeous woman would see through it anyway. 

"...I'm a bit scared...", he admitted.

Mikoto's eyes widened in disbelieve and when Kakashi saw it, he hastily added: "Not for me but for everyone else. I'm going to be away for quite some time. What if something happens to any of you while I'm away?", the time traveller frowned.

Mikoto forced a reassuring smile on her face, although inwardly she was very worried. She would have preferred it, if Kakashi was afraid for himself instead of him worrying about others. He was the one going to war and he needed a clear head for it.

"Don't worry about us. We are safe in Konoha and you know we are strong enough to protect ourselves if we need to."

She wasn't oblivious to the darkening of Kakashi's eyes at the mention of their safety in Konoha but she decided to let it pass.

"I know.", agreed Kakashi reluctantly.

"Do you want to hold Itachi?", Mikoto asked trying to light Kakashis mood.

By the mention of Itachis name, a light shone in his eyes and a small genuine smile adored his worried face.

"Can I?", he asked with under-swelling excitement and Mikoto giggled softly at the adorable sight.

"Of course, just let me wake him up. It is pretty early for him."

Kakashis smile diminished slightly and he waved his hand dismissively.

"You don't have to wake him, Mikoto. I can always hold him when I'm back. He needs his sleep."

The Uchiha matriarch glared jokingly at Kakashi and replied: "Do you want me to have to deal with a devil for the next couple of weeks? If Itachi finds out that I let you leave without him having the chance to say goodbye to his big brother, he will be a night mare until you're back. And as much as I love my son, I don't want to deal with him when he's mad."

The time traveller chuckled when he remembered the rare times Itachi had been mad. 

"I don't know what you mean, he's such an angel.", he chuckled and Mikoto playfully rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, whenever you're around. He adores you Kakashi. You are the big brother he always wished for."

Kakashi blushed slightly. There was something in the way Mikoto said it, that reassured him that the chance of Itachi killing the Uchiha clan grew smaller day by day. And that if he ever came to that point again, he would confine in Kakashi. 

"I love him too.", he whispered more to himself than to Mikoto.

The Uchiha matriarch had turned around and shook gently her son's shoulder.

"Itachi-kun, wake up. Kakashi wants to say goodbye."

Itachi yawned cutely and rubbed his tired eyes. 

"Kashi?", he asked sluggishly and the time traveller's heart warmed at the adorable sight. He would do anything for Itachi to keep his innocence.

"I'm here Tachi-kun.", replied Kakashi softly and when little Itachi heard the familiar voice, he held his arms in the air, telling the silver haired boy to pick him up.

Kakashi didn't waste time and fulfilled Itachi's wish. Itachi immediately wrapped his little hands around Kakashi's neck and played with some of the longer strands of his silver hair.

"Your hair s' p'etty.", he mumbled tiredly and yawned loudly.

"Thanks, Tachi-kun.", chuckled Kakashi and cradled the tired boy in his arms.

"I'm going to have to leave Konoha for a while."

As soon as the words left the tie traveller's mouth, Itachis eyes widened, his lip started to tremble and fat tear drops scurried down his face.

"You... You're leawing?", he asked trembling.

"No, don't cry Tachi. Please, don't cry.", begged Kakashi frantic. 

He couldn't handle a crying Itachi! But Itachi only started to wail and his grip tightened around Kakashi.

"You can't go, Kashi-nii!"

Kakashi looked helplessly at Mikoto but she only looked at him apologetic.

"I have o go, Tachi. But I will be back.", said Kakashi gently and tried to pry Itachis hands off his neck. 

"P'omise?", asked Itachi sobbing and Kakashi couldn't bring himself to tell the boy the truth.

"Sure, I promise."

The words tasted foul in his mouth but it was better than to take away that sliver of hope. 

"Will you be a good boy while I'm away?"

Itachi nodded strongly and replied shakily: "I'll protect eve'yone, Kashi-nii!"

The time traveller gently wiped the tears from Itachis face and softly patted his hair.

"I know you will."

He would have liked to spend more time with his little brother but he still needed to see a few other people and his time was running out.

"I'll see you when I'm back."

He gently handed Itachi back to his mother and hugged her tightly.

"Goodbye Mikoto."

"Goodbye Kakashi.", whispered the Uchiha matriarch sadly and let go of the boy that had grown so much on her.

She watched him walk to Kushina and Rin and as the two engulfed him in a desperate hug. For them, it was the first time that they got the chance to say goodbye and both were crying relentlessly. 

Mikoto sighed deeply and walked away, her attentive eyes searching the small crowd for Tobias Uchiha. When she found him she confidently strode towards him. 

"Mikoto-sama.", the young Jounin greeted her politely but she could see the surprise in his eyes.

"Hello, Tobias-san."

Her piercing gaze made Tobias nervous so when she didn't say more, he asked slowly: "How can I help you?"

It was as if she had waited for that question because her glare got even sharper and more threatened. 

"Listen, I want you to look after Kakashi when you're out on the field. That is an order, understood?"

The seriousness in her voice scared the young Uchiha and told him not to play around and that something that he didn't know about was going on.

"Do you think he isn't ready to be a Commander?", he asked hesitantly, unsure if it would anger the strong woman.

He didn't expect her to laugh out loudly, he really didn't.

"What's so funny, mummy?", asked Itachi who had fallen asleep and had woken up again.

"Oh nothing, Itachi-kun. Go back to sleep, okay?", Mikoto replied softly.

"Okay mummy." 

As soon as Itachis eyes dropped close again, she looked back to Tobias.

"Do I think he isn't ready? Of course not! He is a genius and as long as you follow his orders, I don't doubt for a second that you will be victorious. However, Kakashi is still only a child. I don't want him to get lost in the darkness and cruelty that is war. Not more than he already is. I only want you to watch out that he doesn't isolate himself. Do you understand?"

Tobias didn't know what Mikoto expected from him, he wasn't a therapist after all but he would do his best to look out for the boy.

"Of course Mikoto-sama."

Meanwhile, Kakashi was busy with comforting Kushina and Rin. The red haired woman was a bit easier to handle than Rin. She only pulled him into a bone crushing hug and gave him a speech of the Do and Don't on the field. Not that Kakashi needed it but he let the woman rant regardless.

"Stay safe and promise to come back.", she said loudly while hugging him again.

There was a minuscules part in Kakashi that got annoyed that everybody wanted him to promise to come back alive. Couldn't they understand that such a promise was impossible to keep? Except if your name is Naruto, of course. 

"I'll try my best.", he replied instead and squirmed out of Kushinas hug.

The red head immediately threw herself into Minatos arms and let a few tears slip.

Rin was far harder to comfort. As soon as Kushina was gone, she exclaimed trembling: "I don't want you to go Kakashi-kun!", and latched onto him.

"What if you don't come back? You're still injured and don't you think you're too young for such a position? I think you shouldn't be forced to shoulder so many responsibilities."

'Oh thanks Rin. It's not like I like it.', thought Kakashi slightly cross that Rin had mentioned the responsibilities that came with this position.

He absolutely loathed taking responsibility over the lives of others. He had hated it when he was hokage, he hated it now and he'd hate it in the future. If he had the chance, he would give this position away in a heartbeat but since the future of the world partly depended on how quickly Kakashi was able to end this war, he couldn't.

"Don't worry Rin. I can look after myself.", he said and hugged her slightly.

"But..."

"I'm going to be fine,Rin.", dismissively he waved his hand. "It's just going to be like any other mission."

"Kakashi-kun..."

"I'll see you when I'm back."

Kakashi didn't mean anything bad when he cut her off like that, it was just that Rin had been quite annoying ever since he had woken up in the hospital. He knew and understood that his teammate was worried about him but it didn't mean that she could wrap him bubble wrap. And the fact that she had glared at Anko whenever the purple haired girl was around, didn't minder his annoyance. Why couldn't she be a little bit like Anko?

...Anko... 

She and his father would be the hardest goodbyes. Not because they would try to make him stay,no, both had accepted the fact that he was a warrior, but because he would worry the most about them.

"Kakashi-kun."

He hadn't even realised that he had walked over to Genma and Anko but now he stood before them and didn't know what to say. Obito was his brother but these two were his best friends.

"Go and show them that age is just a number, Kakashi.", said Genma encouraging and patted his shoulder.

"I can't wait to hear all the stories about you. Everyone is going to be so jealous when I tell them I'm best friends with the Silver Reaper."

Kakashi grinned when he heard Genma joke around.

"See you soon, Genma. And...", he didn't even finish when Genma winked and mouthed: "I'll look after her."

So instead he just smiled gratefully as his best friend walked away to join Mikoto and Itachi.

"Anko...", he looked at the purple haired girl insure, not sure what he should say.

The last time he left, Anko had screamed at him given she accepted his choice in the end, but it still wasn't pretty and he sure as hell, didn't want a repeat of it. 

Anko sighed and quickly wrapped her arms around her best friend.

"Just be careful out there and remember your promise.", she whispered into his ear before pulling away, but Kakashi wouldn't have it and pulled her closer to himself.

"Look out for my summons, okay? I'll write you whenever I can.", he whispered back which made Ankos' heart beat a little faster.

"I-I'll wait for them.", she muttered shakily.

"Good. I see you as soon as I can."

Reluctantly, the time traveller let her go. As much as he wanted to spend more time with her, he had to go.

"See you soon, Kakashi-kun.", replied Anko quietly and smiled at him softly. 

She wanted him to remember her with a smile and not in tears like the last time. He should know that she'd have his back. 

Kakashi had only taken a few steps away when he turned around again. Quickly, without thinking, he came back and gently kissed her forehead. His hand caressed her blushing cheek as he whispered: "Don't you dare die while I'm away.".

With his heart a little bit lighter now, he walked to the last person he had to bid goodbye. 

"Dad."

There wasn't much that the two could say or, to be more precise there wasn't a need to say anything. Kakashi knew that his father was proud of him and accepted his choice but like every other parent was worried about their child. And Sakumo knew that Kakashi was strong enough to return alive. So instead of wasting time with unnecessary words they just hugged each other tightly for the last time in a very long while. But as always, life wasn't nice and soon somebody cleared his throat loudly to catch their attention.

"Hokage-sama.", both Hatakes greeted Hiruzen simultaneously which caused a few of the people around them to chuckle.

"I'm sorry to say this but Kakashi,...it's time."

The small smiles and chuckles that had been around earlier disappeared and made space for a deafening silence. Kakashi gulped, his throat was suddenly dry and he couldn't bring a word out.

"...O-okay...", he said quietly. 

"Well, I'll see you all when I'm back.", he said awkwardly and waved before tacking a couple of steps towards Tobias.

"Kakashi.", Sakumo shouted out to his son and quickly overcame the distance, in his hands a beautiful tanto.

"Dad, that's..."

"Yes, it's my tanto and I want you to have it.", said Sakumo and glanced over the tanto lovingly.

Once he had gotten that tanto only after his father's death, unknowing if his father would have found him worthy for it or not. But now, now he had the proof that he did deserve that tanto.

"T-thank you, Dad.", he stuttered, tears shimmering in his eyes.

"I love you Kakashi."

"Love you too, Dad."

And with that, Kakashi and Tobias left Konoha. Soon everyone dispersed and only Hiruzen and Minato stayed, looking in the direction the two shinobis had left.

"Do you think it was wrong of me to promote and send out Kakashi? He is a prodigy, one of the strongest that will ever exist.", asked Hiruzen and took a drag from his pipe.

Minato didn't look at him when he answered: "If I was hokage, I wouldn't have send out a child to the front, regardless of their power. It is our duty to protect the king of Konoha, the future generation, how can we do that if we send them out to fight our battles?"

"Even if that child could end the war?"

"Even then."

Kakashi and Tobias had been running for almost two days straight and now they were nearing Platoon 7's camp. During these two days, they had gotten to know each other more and Tobias understood now what Mikoto had meant. The boy was incredible strong but it was as if a cloud of darkness and sadness always surrounded him. 

"We're almost there, Commander.", said Tobias as the two slowed down to an easy jog.

"Yes. Do you think hokage-sama has notified them of our arrival?", Kakashi hadn't even finished when a kunoichi suddenly appeared in front of them. The red triangles on her face and the threatening nin-dog beside her were tell-tale signs that she was an Inuzuka.

"Kakashi Hatake? Tobias Uchiha?", the kunoichi asked warily and glanced incredulously at the younger boy.

"Yes? I'm Kakashi Hatake and who are you?", replied Kakashi confidently and Tobias didn't doubt for a second that Kakashi wasn't faking his confidence.

The kunoichi hesitated for a moment but than bowed politely.

"I'm Mei Inuzuka, your second in command. Hokage-sama has notified me of your arrival and I mentioned your new position to the others. ...I'm sorry to say that they aren't very happy about it, considering your ...age.", Mei looked apologetic at the two shinobis but they just discarded her worry. At least Kakashi did. 

"Don't worry about it."

Biting her lip, Mei finally asked the question that bothered her for a while now: "Excuse me, but how old are you exactly, Commander? Hokage-sama was very vague about your true age and only said that you were quite young."

Kakashi smiled at her friendly and replied: "I'm eleven. Can you lead us to the camp? I'd like to meet the other shinobis before we move out tomorrow."

"Of course. If you'd follow me.", Mei didn't let her surprise show and lead the two to their camp.

On their way there they were exposed to many unbelieving, curious and angry glares. When they had reached the middle of the camp every other shinobi had come to meet them. 

An angry shinobi, from the looks of a Hyuuga, shouted loudly: "The hokage must be mad! He expects us to follow a child?"

A murmur went through the crowd, shouts of agreement were voiced.

"I'm really sorry Commander.", Mei said quietly to Kakashi as the shouts and murmurs got louder and angrier. "They usually aren't like that. It's just hard for them to have a new Commander that is ..."

"So young?", finished Kakashi her sentence chuckling. "I know and I understand."

"Platoon 7.", he said their name normally but was ignored.

"Platoon 7.", this time he called them louder but only a few single shinobis and kunoichis glanced at him curiously.

'Naruto once said, go big or go home.', Kakashi remembered gleefully. 'I guess I go big.'

A small, almost sadistic smile adored his face when he searched for his chakra. With a few hand signs, too fast for Tobias or Mei to see, he formed his chakra. Suddenly, the sky darkened and a few lightning bolts shot down and through the masses. Nobody got injured but the lightning bolts had the wanted effect and Kakashi had now the attention of everyone. The riots had ceased and a shocked silence had taken its place.

"I know you're angry and confused. I know I am young,", Kakashi said calmly and this time the members of Platoon 7 listened attentively, "but I believe that my successes on the battle field speak more truth than my age. I don't know what to tell you really. Either we fight as a team, we protect as a team, we work as a team, we laugh as a team, we help as a team, we cry as a team and we joke as a team or we're gonna crumble. And I for my part don't want to crumble."

And as Kakashi stood confidently surrounded by all these strong shinobis and kunoichis which were enchanted by his words, Mei Inuzuka didn't doubt that the silver haired boy would one day become a legend.


	18. Chapter 18

_~Time skip 2 years~_

Kakashi tiredly sat down in his tent and rubbed his eyes, exhausted. He was so tired of this stupid war! Everything had started so good, he had no idea how it could have turned to this. In his time line, the Third Shinobi World War had lasted four long and dreadful years, now that he was fighting in it he had thought they would have ended it faster. If not in the first year than at least in the second one but that hadn't been the case. No, they were already in the third year and it didn't look like they'd end it any time soon. It just didn't make sense!

Annoyed from his own weakness he pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed deeply. The constant worry about the war, his village, his platoon, and his family tore on his nerves and he couldn't remember the last time he had a good sleep.

Kakashi felt set back to the time when he was new in this timeline and had been haunted by nightmares, although now it wasn't the nightmares that kept him awake, but the meetings with his second in command and other important shinobi.

However, he didn't let anyone see that this pointless war was driving him insane.

The time traveler had thought that because he had already experienced war and darkness had forged his entire life, he would deal with this better than most. But truth was that he was barely hanging on.

"Kakashi-sama."

Kakashi looked up to see one of his most trusted summons, Bella, sit in front of him with a scroll in her paws. Bella was a gorgeous black hound that Kakashi used regularly to exchange letters with Anko.

"I have Anko-san's reply. And I should tell you that she misses you terribly and that you shouldn't let her wait for your next letter too long. Otherwise, she will try a few new interrogation methods on you. Her words, not mine. Apparently there is a nice young lad in the T&I sector that sometimes gives her lessons. His name is Morino-san if I'm not mistaken. So you should be wary of her threat," said Bella and watched her summoner thoughtfully.

Kakashi shuddered when he thought about Anko's threat, that she would no doubt set into reality. During the three years he had been away now, Anko had started to get interested in the T&I sector. Apparently, even in another timeline Anko, or the crazy snake lady, as Naruto had liked to call her, had a knack for interrogation.

"Thank you, Bella. I'll summon you when I'm done," said Kakashi and patted the hound's head gratefully.

"Until later, Kakashi-sama," with a _**puff** _Bella disappeared.

For a while, Kakashi just stared at the scroll silently. How long had it been since he had last seen Anko or his father? Had it been weeks? Or months? He wasn't sure anymore.

Although, all of his shinobi had been back in Konoha for a couple of weeks every three months, him being the commander of the 7th platoon already had less time in Konoha and more often than not he had chosen to stay on the front instead of returning home. Kakashi believed it to be easier and less painful for his family if he stayed away instead of them having to regularly say goodbye. Therefore, in all of the three years this war had been going on, he had only returned to Konoha a total of five times and then only for a couple of days.

It wasn't something that the Hokage appreciated even though it was a major factor as to why platoon 7 had so few casualties. Hiruzen, like many others, was worried about Kakashi's mental state but since Kakashi always aced his mental check ups, he had learned how to fake being okay in his previous life, nobody could force him to take some time off.

Still, the time he had spent in Konoha, all the memories he had made there were the ones he held close to his heart and that helped him from crossing the thin line to insanity.

And every single visit had ended with a kiss. Be it a peck on the cheek from Anko or him given her a kiss on the forehead.

The time traveler blushed brightly when he remembered that particular part of his visits and if anyone else would have been in the tent they would have seen a rare giddy smile on the always serious boy's face.

But before Kakashi could dwell any longer on the fact that he blushed like a love sick fool, he was harshly reminded of his other duties in the form of a small but very heavy snake.

"Yuki! Get off!" he groaned when he recognized the telltale white scales of the summon Orochimaru used to communicate with him.

"Good day, Kakashi-san," greeted the snake and calmly slithered from Kakashi's stomach where he had oh so elegantly appeared. "Orochimaru-sama wants an update on your situation."

Kakashi sighed and rubbed his forehead. Anko's letter would have to wait for later so he put the scroll into his vest and grabbed a fresh piece of paper.

**The situation hasn't changed. We are still victorious in every battle but the enemy doesn't retreat nor do they run out of shinobis. It is strange. My guess is that we have changed something too vital and are now experiencing the consequences. I believe I've seen a figure that resembled Zetsu quite recently but I'm not too sure.**

**If by any chance Madara or Zetsu have interfered with the war or are allies with one of the other villages it could explain why we're not making progress. But this is only a theory. I'll look into it as soon as possible.**

**Are there any strange sightings in your area?**

**K.H**

Kakashi quickly sealed he paper in a scroll and handed said scroll to Yuki.

"Here. Tell Orochimaru that I plan on visiting his platoon soon so we can talk. We cleared the area here and are only waiting for new orders."

The snake nodded and disappeared. Before Kakashi could take a breath and even think about Anko's letter, a commotion outside of his tent caught his attention. Being the seasoned shinobi he was, he could easily feel the sudden shift in the air surrounding his platoon and the rising anxiety of a few of his shinobi. The time traveler quickly left his tent to see what was going on.

"I hope this is only a joke," Kakashi said coldly when he saw a young girl standing between the rest of his shinobi.

Mei, who had already been outside, frowned at her commander's cold voice and followed his sight. She wasn't really surprised to see a child joining their platoon, the war was exhausting and it was a normal strategic move to throw older genins as well as fresh out of the Academy genins onto the battlefield. What caused her to worry was the livid expression on her commander's face. She quickly followed Kakashi, who had walked towards the gennin.

"What is the meaning of this?"

The time traveler's cold voice cut through the air, immediately silencing all shinobi. The shinobi closest to him took a couple of steps back when they were hit by Kakashi's burning glare. As hilarious as it sounds they were all afraid of the young boy especially now when his dark eyes mirrored a raging storm.

One shinobi asked hesitantly the question that was in every ones mind: "What do you mean, Commander?".

He was immediately the focus point of these dangerous dark eyes and he felt his legs trembling in fear.

"Why is a child here?"

Kakashi could barely hold himself back from lashing out, the thought that his friends, Obito,Rin, Kurenai, Asuma, Gai, Genma or Anko, could also be fighting right now brought the foreign feeling of fear in his heart. The last time he felt that fear was when his students were dying.

"She was send as reinforcement," answered a kunoichi when no one else dared to say something.

For a moment Kakashi just stared into space which caused his shinobis to look around nervously before he gave the kunoichi a sharp nod and turned to his second in command. His eyes glanced over the trembling girl whose green eyes were wide in fear of what was coming.

"Mei, get me a kunoichi preferable one that is good with children and a shinobi that has a high succession rate in bodyguard missions," he ordered sternly.

The blond kunoichi looked at her commander perplexed but followed his orders swiftly.

"You," Kakashi pointed at the genin. "What is your name?"

Suddenly tears were streaming down the girl's face and she sobbed quietly. Kakashi was at a loss of what to do. He might be very well one of the strongest shinobi alive but he was clueless when it came to children, especially when they were his age. It didn't help the situation that the girl's green eyes reminded him of Sakura and each tear the girl shed was like a knife in his heart.

"Commander you're scaring her," the same kunoichi from earlier went next to the crying girl and put her hand gently on her shoulder.

It was only now that Kakashi really had time to look at the kunoichi. He immediately recognized her as Delilah Uchiha, a woman that Tobias had introduced to him as his girlfriend. Said Tobias just came and put his hand on Kakashi's shoulder. If it had been anyone else, Kakashi would have interpret the action as rude and disrespectful but during the three years he had come to form a brotherly relationship with the Uchiha.

"Come on Kakashi, stop scaring my girlfriend. Your stare is making her anxious," he said and chuckled when Delilah glared at him for embarrassing her in front of the Commander.

It was true that when the silver-haired boy stared at her silently she had felt anxious and she didn't doubt that the commander already knew that but Tobias didn't have to say it out loud.

Before she could say anything Kakashi smirked which caused everyone around to be wary. They had learned that when their Commander smirked in that particular way, something was bound to happen.

"Congratulations Delilah. You are going to take the girl back to Konoha safely," Kakashi said and gave her a closed-eyed smile.

"Huh?"

Before Delilah or Tobias could say something, Mei was back with two shinobi.

"As you asked for Commander. This is Taro Hyuuga, he is the best on bodyguard missions, and Naomi Suzuki, she works voluntarily in the civilian kindergarten," Mei said quickly.

Kakashi nodded and swiftly assessed the newcomers.

Taro was a Hyuuga but not from the main house. His byakugan would be helpful to identify enemies from far. He was well built, probably in his late twenties and Kakashi didn't doubt that the man could pack a punch.

Meanwhile, Naomi wasn't from a clan but from a civilian family. She had ordinary brown hair and brown eyes and Kakashi had read in her file that she was a pretty balanced kunoichi, no super impressive skills in one particular area. That was also matched with what he had seen in the battles. But her voluntary work with civilian children made her perfect for this job.

"Okay. Delilah, Taro and Naomi, you are going to bring the girl back to Konoha safely and then join us on the front again."

The five adults stared at the silver-haired boy incredulous whereas the genin had stopped crying and looked hopefully at him. Delilah and Tobias already had heard this once before but still couldn't wrap their heads around it. And Mei who had heard of this for the first time thought that her friend had finally gone mad.

"I don't understand Commander," said Mei startled.

Kakashi waved his hand dismissively and gave her his trade mark smile when he replied calmly: "It's simple. I won't have any children on the battlefield."

Whispers started going through the surrounding shinobi and one of them actually shouted out: "That is ridiculous! He's a child himself."

The atmosphere immediately changed to something dangerous. Mei and Tobias stood a bit straighter and let small amounts of KI out whereas Kakashi turned calmly to the disrespectful shinobi. The man appeared to be a Yamanaka and new to this platoon. Kakashi remembered that Inoichi and Hiruzen had send him here a couple of days ago.

Kakashi tilted his head slightly sideways and gave the man a forced closed-eyed smile. With a fake friendly voice, he said: "I don't like your tone Aisu Yamanaka."

He opened his eyes slightly, a dangerous shine in them.

"If you have a problem with me leading this platoon, you are welcome to fight it out with me. If you can beat me in a one vs one, I'm happy to resign. It shouldn't be a problem since I'm only a child, right?"

The silence that followed was answer enough.

The smile left Kakashi's face as he loudly said: "Pathetic."

Turning away from the Yamanaka he focused on the five adults and the girl.

"Delilah, you'll be the captain of this unit until you join us again. I'll give you a scroll for the Hokage that explains your situation. Don't worry, what ever consequences there are you won't be affected."

You could visible see the relief on Taro's and Naomi's face when Kakashi said that. They both had worried what the Hokage might do to them since it didn't look like Kakashi acted in the Hokage's favor. However, neither Mei nor Delilah or Tobias were relieved at this. Delilah hadn't even thought that there could be consequences since she believed that what Kakashi did was the right thing to do. Whereas Mei and Tobias didn't like it that their friend acted against the Hokage knowing full well that it showed the utmost disrespect when a healthy shinobi was sent back. It conveyed the message that he thought the Hokage wasn't acting wisely.

"Furthermore, if you encounter one of the Sannin, tell them to send any children under the age of 16 they might have in their platoon back to Konoha. Actually, tell any Commander you come across this. Oh and if any of them have a problem with it let them know this: as long as I am fighting in this war, I won't have any children on the battlefield. If they need reinforcement than they should notify me and I'll be there to take care of it."

Although, to everyone else it appeared as if a child was saying those words, none of Kakashi's shinobi doubted his words.

"Hokage-sama won't be happy with this," said Mei quietly.

Kakashi stared darkly at her and growled lowly: "And I'm not happy with his decision to send children out. He will just have to deal with it. Now, I want the team to move out immediately."

No one dared to say anything against his orders again. The three shinobi that would leave to Konoha quickly went to gather their stuff while the girl stayed with Kakashi, Mei and Tobias.

The two adults exchanged worried glances when their friend continued to stare into the distance. Nothing good could happen when Kakashi was lost in thoughts.

A light tug on his hand brought Kakashi back to reality and he looked confused at the young girl.

"T-thank you," she murmured quietly and smiled at him shyly. "My name is Yuma Ito."

"No problem Yuma. I'm sure your parents will be happy to see you again," said Kakashi friendly.

Their conversation was cut short when Delilah appeared again and waved Yuma to her.

"Goodbye Hatake-sama. I'll be sure to tell my parents about what you did for me. They'll want to thank you too," said Yuma and ran quickly to Delilah.

"Goodbye Yuma," murmured Kakashi as he watched them walk away. "Go on Tobias and say goodbye to her."

The two adults stared surprised at their friend and Tobias was slightly embarrassed that the boy could so easily see through him.

"Thanks, man," he said and went to quickly follow his girlfriend.

"Tobias," Kakashi called again, stopping the Uchiha. "Catch."

The time traveler smirked at the confused expression of Tobias as he caught a scroll.

"When did you...never mind, you're impossible Kakashi," Tobias chuckled before he ran off.

"So Commander, when did you write the scroll for Hokage-sama?" asked Mei curiously.

A quiet chuckle left Kakashi when he answered: "When you and Tobias were exchanging worried glances. Can you tell everyone that we are moving out this evening? We are going to join Fugaku-san's platoon next because I'm pretty sure that Uchiha won't send any children home."

Mei nodded and quickly went to get the platoon ready.

As soon as she left, Kakashi's smile fell and he panic-stricken tore the scroll that was safely tugged in his vest out and ripped it open. The seconds he needed to skim read the text were one of the longest and most dreadful seconds he had ever experienced. His heart had been in a cold grasp that slowly squeezed his heart tighter and tighter the entire time.

_'Thank kami!'_

The hold around his heart disappeared and he could slowly breathe again.

Anko's letter hadn't mentioned that she or any of their friends were sent to another platoon so Kakashi believed that they were still safely in Konoha. However, he still made it his aim to return to Konoha as soon as possible only to be absolutely sure. And because he had to have a talk with Hiruzen.


	19. Chapter 19

When Fugaku walked back into Konoha accompanied by two platoons, one not his own, he felt numb and angry. And maybe, just maybe, a little bit scared of what was to come. His steps were powerful but lacked the usual elegance as he walked towards the hokage tower. A scowl marred his face when he thought to the conversation he would have to hold soon. It was all that idiotic Hatake's fault but he would have to feel the consequences! If the boy would have just stayed away non of that would have happened.

"Hokage-sama," Fugaku greeted Hiruzen politely, his gaze twitching through the office taking in the presence of not only Hiruzen but also of Danzo.

"Fugaku, it's good to see you although I didn't expect you back so soon. How are you?" Hiruzen smiled friendly but suspicion laced his gaze. He really didn't want another bad surprise. It had been bad enough that a team from Kakashi's platoon had arrived this morning, bringing the Genin he had send to Platoon 7 back. 

_**~Flashback~** _

_It had been a good morning for Hiruzen. He had gotten a notification that Platoon 2 had defended the eastern border successfully, there were little casualties and the Sannin were back in Konoha since yesterday evening. And best of all, he had finally gotten rid of the tower of paperwork! It was the start of a perfect day!_

_Relaxed, he sat in his chair and looked out of the huge panorama window. The sun had just started to rise and put the city into a magical light. Nothing could dampen his mood today, he was sure of that._

_A knock on his office door forced him to turn his gaze from the beautiful sight._

_"Come in."_

_He smiled gently when four people, one shinobi, two kunoichi, and a genin, entered his office._

_"Hokage-sama," the four bowed quickly._

_"Ah, kunoichi-san, how may I help you on this beautiful day?" asked Hiruzen calmly._

_He noticed how all four were very nervous and agitated but he thought it to be nerves, nothing more._

_Delilah gulped, her hands were trembling slightly but she repeated in her mind that Kakashi had said she would be alright._

_She took a step forward, handing Hiruzen the mission scroll and said shakily: "I'm Uchiha Delilah from the 7th Platoon under Hatake Kakashi. We have orders to accompany Genin Ito Yuma, who was send as reinforcement to Platoon 7, back to Konoha."_

_Anger coursed through Hiruzen and he harshly ripped the scroll from Delilah's hands._ _What did Kakashi think he was doing?! His eyes flew over the text, angrily taking in the words and hidden meanings behind them. Furiously he tossed the scroll against a wall._

_"ANBU!" he shouted enraged and immediately two ANBU appeared in front of him, both kneeling and averting their gazes. It was always a terrifying experience when Hiruzen was mad. "Get me Orochimaru this instant! And you!" he turned to the four shinobi, "Get out of my office."_

_The four didn't waste a second to escape the office._

_It took six minutes for Orochimaru to appear in the office. Six minutes in which Hiruzen had re-read the scroll ten times and had cursed the young boy loudly and colourful._

_"You wanted to speak with me, Sensei?" Orochimaru hesitantly walked into the office, seeing as his sensei was in a terrible mood._

_"You!" Hiruzen pointed accusingly at his student. "What the hell is Kakashi doing?!"_

_The Snake Sannin had no idea what his sensei was talking about so he only listened to his rant._

_Hiruzen flung the damn scroll at Orochimaru and snarled: "Here! Read and tell me this isn't a sign of utmost disrespect!"_

_Orochimaru hastily read the scroll, glancing at Hiruzen from time to time, afraid that something else could be thrown his way when he was distracted._

_"You didn't actually send children to Kakashi's platoon, did you sensei?" Orochimaru asked questioningly even though he already knew the answer._

_"Of course I did! I am the Hokage, who does he think he is going against my orders!"_

_Pinching the bridge of his nose, Orochimaru thought about the best way to explain this to Hiruzen without getting his ass kicked._

_"Of course you are the Hokage and Kakashi respects you. It is just that... well...try to see his view. Kakashi has played a major part in this war and therefore has experienced some pretty gruesome things. Although he passes your mental evaluation every time I am pretty sure he deals with a few terrors. No matter how you look at it, Kakashi was but a mere child when he went to his first battle and those things he has seen destroy a man's mind. I believe that the reason he opposes your orders and is so rude about the whole thing is because he doesn't want another human, be it a child or a grown man, to experience the same things he has. He would rather shoulder everything by himself. Haven't you noticed how almost every mission report stated that Kakashi was the first to engage with the enemy and ordered his men to stay back? Or how in his strategies he is always to receive the brunt of the force? I guess it is just his way of protecting Konoha."_

_Hiruzen had to think a long time of what to do with this situation but he realized that Orochimaru couldn't change anything and so he send him away._

_Turning back to the panorama window he came to a decision._

_Just this once he would turn a blind eye to Kakashi's rude actions and only because the boy had been very successful in the war. But he would keep an eye on him and if he dared to disrespect him again, the boy, no matter how much he had done for Konoha, would feel the consequences of his actions._

_**~Flashback End~** _

The Uchiha Clan head deliberately ignored the polite question of his superior and glanced warily at Danzo.

"I have urgent news Hokage-sama."

It was obvious that he wanted Danzo out of the room but Hiruzen was ignorant to the silent plea. Danzo smirked when Fugakus scowl deepened but he quickly wiped all emotions from his face when Hiruzen's eyes glanced over him.

"Well don't let me wait any longer. Let us hear what you have to say."

Fugaku hesitated for a moment but realized that he couldn't drag out the inevitable any longer.

"Three days ago, Commander Hatake and his unit came to support my platoon on the border to Ame. When he arrived, Commander Hatake and I had a disagreement about the use of young Genin in the war when we were ambushed by Ame shinobi. It was our misfortune that Hanzo the Salamander had been part of the ambush. 

As soon as he appeared, Commander Hatake gave order to retreat. I agreed with his decision and both of our platoons retreated swiftly while Commander Hatake and a handful of strong shinobi bought time. We were almost out when Hanzo cornered a group of young genin. It was obvious that the children should have been considered dead but Commander Hatake didn't hesitate and jump in between and engage Hanzo into a fight. The second in command of Platoon 7, Inuzuka Mei, and Uchiha Tobias got the genin out but when a stray attack almost hit one of the genin, Commander Hatake took the attack instead. From where we stood, it appeared as if the attack had hit a vital spot and he was critically injured. His shinobi were ready to turn around and get their Commander when he ordered us to go and bring the children back to Konoha. We had no choice but to retreat while Commander Hatake was abducted by the enemy," Fugaku finished his report emotionless.

Hiruzen had been calmly taking drags from his pipe when Fugaku first started but further down the report he had stopped smoking, his face paled and his grip around the desk tightened. The silence that hung in the office afterwards was deadly. 

"I see..." said Hiruzen slowly as if he didn't know what to say. 

It was rare that the Hokage didn't know how to deal with a situation but right now that was the case. 

Hatake Kakashi, the Commander of the 7th Platoon, the son of the White Fang, the youngest Commander in history, known as Silver Reaper, a once in a century prodigy, had been kidnapped by one of the most dangerous men alive, Hanzo the Salamander.

It was a disaster!

"Fugaku, I don't have to remind you that this information is classified and not to be shared with anyone, even your wife."

Fugaku nodded understanding. 

"Of course, Hokage-sama."

 _'If Mikoto finds out that I left the young Hatake behind, she will kill me. I really don't have a death wish,'_ the stoic man thought grimacing. 

"Good," Hiruzen folded his hands thoughtfully and stared grimly into the distance. 

"Fugaku, I would like you to stay here. I'm going to hold an emergency meeting and as clan head as well as Commander you'll have to be there. ANBU!" he called the ANBU squad hidden in the office. 

Suddenly five ANBU kneed in front of the Hokage, head bowed and body tense.

"Get me the Sannin, all the clan heads that are currently in Konoha and Inuzuka Mei."

In a matter of seconds they were gone and Hiruzen know it wouldn't take long for the first ones to arrive. 

What no one noticed was the sly smirk on Danzo's face when he heard of the kidnapping of the Hatake. The young boy had been dangerous to him; so much power in such a young age was incredible but when used for the wrong cause it could be disastrous. And he had no doubt that if Kakashi deemed him a threat to Konoha he'd eliminate him. But now he had the perfect opportunity to get rid of the prodigy. 

Whilst Danzo planned to take down the famous prodigy, Hiruzen was plagued by guilt, regret and fear of what was coming. The one thing he had feared had happened and it would have outrageous consequences. In his mind, he went through all the people Kakashi had affected and that would no doubt come storming into his office as soon as the news about Kakashi's kidnapping got to them. 

There was obviously Sakumo who would probably loose his mind in worry about his son.

Then there was Orochimaru. Ever since his student had met the young boy he had changed, he was happier and that was the only thing Hiruzen ever wanted for him.

Minato being Kakashi's sensei and Kushina being his wife and a good friend to Kakashi.

Mikoto and her boy Itachi. The Uchiha matriarch had become fiercely protective of the boy.

Anko and Genma, Kakashi's best friends.

Obito and Rin, his teammates. 

Asuma, Gai and Kurenai, Kakashi's friends.

Jiraiya and Tsunade, they had grown close to Kakashi during the war.

Mei, Tobias and Delilah.

The whole of the 7th Platoon.

And all the parents of the genin Kakashi had send back to Konoha.

His thoughts got interrupted when the office door was carelessly flung open and a distraught Sakumo stormed inside.

"Where is my son?!" he asked quietly, his voice terrified and a look in his dark eyes that Hiruzen would most likely never forget. That look of fear, betrayal and hate. A look that showed just how much Sakumo was scared for his son. 

Meanwhile, Mei and Tobias had desperately searched for Delilah as well as for Naomi and Taro. After all they were part of the 7th Platoon too and needed to know what happened to their commander. Fortunately, they met the three at Ichiraku.

Tobias didn't hesitate to run to his girlfriend, engulf her in a tight hug and kiss her deeply. The black haired woman was surprised at the public display of affection that was so unlikely for Uchiha including Tobias, even though he was better than most Uchiha. 

"What was that for?" she asked her boyfriend gently, noticing his tight grip around her, his bruised face and the slight trembling of his hands.

"I'm just glad you are here," he whispered in her ear. 

Ever since he had failed in protecting not only his Commander but also his friend, he had been haunted by guilt and fear. Guilt because he believed it to be his fault and because he didn't understand how he could have agreed to leave Kakashi behind. 

The child, because honestly he wasn't more than a mere child, had been braver, fiercer and loyaler than anyone else Tobias knew but he had let him down.

He had deliberately ignored the one teaching Kakashi held important and had preached over and over again.

_In the ninja world, those who break the rules and regulations are called trash. However, those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash._

It didn't help his consciousness that Kakashi had ordered them to leave and therefore ignored his own teachings. The sick feeling stayed and had kept him awake the whole way back to Konoha.

And he felt fear because if even a prodigy like Hatake Kakashi couldn't beat Hanzo, than what chance did they have if Hanzo decided to wage war against Konoha? And fear of loosing his girlfriend to this war.

When somebody cleared his throat to catch his attention, he pushed down his feelings and turned his attention to the task at hand. 

"Mei, it's good to see you and that dork here, but what are you doing in Konoha? Shouldn't you be with Fugaku-sama's platoon or did Commander order you to escort some genin back home?" asked Delilah and grinned slightly when she imagined how their Commander argued with Fugaku-sama. But her smile faded when Tobias and Mei showed no sign of amusement but rather their face darkened and Tobias grip around her hip tightened.

Taro, who had silently watched the interaction between the couple, asked drily: "What happened?"

His gaze took in the bruises and cuts on his comrades' faces, the slight limping of Mei when they had walked over and the dark bags beneath their eyes that concluded many sleepless nights. 

Naomi had curiously leaned forwards, her hazel eyes slightly widened with insecurity but her face showing mostly determination. 

"Commander was kidnapped by Hanzo the Salamander when we were at Uchiha-sama's platoon," Mei said gravely. 

"What?" asked Delilah tonelessly, her face having taken on the color of freshly fallen snow.

Taro had gritted his teeth, eyebrows furrowed and a scowl marred his face whilst his white eyes didn't betray his emotions. Naomi was trembling, the earlier determination having left her face. Considering that she was an average kunoichi, she had put the young Commander on some sort of pedestal, and the fact that someone was strong enough to beat him was terrifying. 

"How?" Taro asked through gritted teeth, on a second thought he added: "How many casualties?"

If their Commander, undoubtedly one of the strongest shinobi Taro knew, was taken, how many of their other shinobi were able to survive what must have been a slaughter?

"None. Kakashi protected each and every one of our shinobis without consideration of his own condition and bought us enough time to retreat..."

The sound of a bowl hitting the ground and shattering into pieces interrupted Tobia's explanation.

"Kakashi-kun is gone?" a fragile voice whispered terrified.

The four adults immediately turned to the voice and stared at the young purple-haired girl.

"Who are you?" asked Mei suspiciously.

But before Anko could answer, Tobias pointed at her and exclaimed with wide eyes: "I know you! Aren't you Kakashi's little girlfriend?"

Any other time Anko would have blushed at the label but right now she was too caught up in her fear for Kakashi.

"You mean the one he writes letters to?" asked Mei and looked at the girl in a new light.

"She's adorable!" commented Delilah and stared longingly at the purple hair. "I can see why Commander likes her."

Taro cleared his throat and asked coldly: "Can we come back to the important matters?"

"Right, of course," Mei was immediately back in her position as second in command but before either could say anything, an ANBU dropped in and notified Mei to meet up in the Hokage office ASAP.

"They are probably going to decide how to save Commander," said Mei grimly and turned to where the little girl had stood a second ago. 

However, now there was nothing but the shards of the bowl she had dropped.

"Let's go. We'll look for her while you look that we get our commander back," said Tobias and put his hand comforting on her shoulder. 

Mei smiled at her friends grimly before shunshinning away.

The moment Anko regained her senses she ran. She only noticed where she was when her legs stopped in front of the Hokage office. She was out of breath by that time but she didn't even feel the stinging pain. There was nothing other than fear she could feel right now.

Forgetting all her manners she pounded on the office door and when it didn't open fast enough she just ripped it open. 

Inside, she realized that the Hokage wasn't alone. There was Minato Namikaze, Kushina Uzumaki, Shikaku Nara, Inoichi Yamanaka, Chouza Akimichi, Hiashi Hyuuga, Tsume Inuzuka, Shibi Aburame, Fugaku Uchiha, the Councilman Danzo, one of the kunoichi she had seen at Ichiruka, Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru and currently she was stared at from everyone. 

Taking on the colour of Kushina's hair she hastily bowed.

Orochimaru quickly strode to his students, he knew exactly why she was her, and put his hand on her shoulder.

"Anko, please go home," he said gently. The girl didn't need to hear what the adults were going to discuss. She didn't need to know that there were people in the room that didn't care much that Kakashi was in the hands of the enemy.

Stubbornly she shook his head. With tears threatening to leave her eyes, she asked shakily: "Where is he?"

"Anko..." Orochimaru looked helplessly at the other shinobi. Maybe one of the kunoichi could stop his student from crying because he honestly didn't know how to comfort someone. But Kushina was wrapped in the arms of her husband, too caught up in her own sadness. And Tsume was a brash person and would probably tell the girl off, so also not the best option. His gaze wandered to the last female figure in the office, Tsunade.

Fortunately, the Senju understood her teammate's silent plea and walked quickly to the young girl, engulfing her in a comforting hug.

"As soon as the girl has finally left the office, we can start to discus how to save Hatake Kakashi," said Fugaku coldly and shot a glare at Anko.

If glares could murder, he would have died at this moment.

"I have to agree with Fugaku. Please, leave the office Anko," said Hiruzen sympathetic.

"No!" cried Anko, "I need to know what happened!"

Before anyone could say anything, the office door was flung open again and Mikoto walked in angrily. 

Similar to her husband, her steps were powerful and she held herself high, however her steps were also accompanied by fury. Her eyes were hard and unforgiving and appeared as if she could see into the soul of everyone.

"Where is my boy?" she asked with a force that only a mother could posses. 

It was just as Hiruzen had feared but although the two kunoichi really shouldn't be in this meeting he saw that there was no way either of them would leave without knowing what happened and what they were going to do about it.

"It's nice to see you Mikoto-san. Please, come in. We were just about to let your husband retell the event that has led to this incident," Hiruzen said defeated.

Mikoto's lip twitched into that typical Uchiha smirk but that quickly faded when she realized that it was her husband that had been with Kakashi.

Inwardly Fugaku cursed his Hokage for throwing him literally to the wolves, there was no doubt that Mikoto would kill him later, but outwardly he kept his emotionless mask and repeated his mission report from earlier this day. 

"He jumped in front of genin," murmured Anko disbelieving. "No...no! He promised! He promised me!"

Her breathing rapidly increased, her face was snow white and she started to shake uncontrollable. 

Orochimaru noticed that his student was at the brink of a mental break down and said panic-stricken: "Anko, Kakashi... he... you know he can't let anyone die. He would rather sacrifice himself than let anyone else get harmed..."

The Snake Sannin was well aware of his student's feelings for the silver-haired boy and he also knew that Kakashi felt something for Anko. He didn't mind that the boy was actually a time traveler from another dimension and from what he had seen in his memories he hadn't ever fallen in love. It was more likely that Kakashi would never act upon his feelings because of something stupid like atonement or something but Orochimaru would be prepared if that case ever showed true. 

However, his speech only made Anko cry harder because she knew it was true. Tsunade angrily hit her teammate's head and together with Mikoto went to comfort the sobbing girl.

"What are planning on doing now?" asked Shikaku who had silently observed everything. It was all just so troublesome. 

"I suggest we send out a small search & rescue team that can infiltrate Ame and get the Hatake boy before he can give out any of Konoha's strategies," proposed Danzo immediately. 

"You care more about some stupid strategies than the boy himself?" growled Tsume.

The Inuzuka clan head had been against making the boy a commander from the start. He was only a pup and a pup should be protected by the pack and not be responsible for protecting said pack. She had been glad that Inuzuka Mei had been appointed second in command. She knew Mei, who was only a couple of years younger than herself, and knew that she would look after the pup.

"Danzo-sama has a point," added Hiashi. "It is a tragedy that the boy was caught but he is already doomed. He is just another casualty."

Suddenly it got difficult to breathe in the office and everyone turned to the person who let out this poisonous KI.

"That is my student you are talking about Hiashi," snarled Minato and gave the Hyuuga clan head and Danzo the glare that usually only his enemies got to see. Hell, he was furious and if anyone else said something disdainful about his student there would be a bloodbath in the Hokage office. 

And he was not the only one that had a murderous expression on his face. Kushina, Mikoto, Mei, and the three Sannin held all similar expressions and Hiruzen actually feared that he would have a few corpses in his office. 

"Whatever we do we have to do it fast," Inoichi said thoughtfully. "I don't know how the boy's mind will deal with torture and imprisonment."

"Can't Platoon 7 go into Ame and get Kakashi?" asked Mei desperately. "My nin-dog Suri is one of the best trackers the Inuzuka Clan has. We could easily find out were Kakashi is held, gather a team of our strongest shinobi, and get in and out before anyone realizes something."

Shikaku immediately shook his head and replied calmly: "That is not good enough. The 7th platoon is strong but not strong enough. Hanzo would execute Hatake-san as soon as he just hears rumors of a platoon being in his land."

"Why not let my ROOT handle this?" asked Danzo. "They are quick and strong an dknow how to deal with a situation like this."

"No!" exclaimed Kushina. "Your ROOT are emotionless soldiers. I don't want Kakashi to be surrounded by shinobi that have forgotten how to interact with children. Kakashi will need support and human contact after his imprisonment."

"I agree," said Inoichi strongly. "It wouldn't do his mind good to be surrounded by ROOT."

"Shikaku, what do you suggest?" asked Hiruzen looking at the Nara.

Said Nara scratched his neck and had to stifle a yawn before he answered: "Gather a team of experts. An Inuzuka for tracking, a Hyuuga would be helpful for when scouting out the environment, a Nara would be able to hold any unexpected guards, a Yamanaka would be good for immediate therapy if needed and a Akimichi to get the boy out of prison. I wouldn't send an Aburame considering all the rain in Ame that would hinder his bugs from scouting the area. That is a team of five and I would send a team of nine so there are four spaces for other experts. Send them out latest tomorrow morning with the intention to get Hatake-san out _alive_." 

At the last point he glanced warily in Danzo's direction. 

"I'll go!" said Orochimaru immediately. He needed to be on this team no matter what. Nobody else knew what the time traveler had already lived through and if Hanzo had tortured him, he didn't know what memories that would bring up. Kakashi would need someone he could rely on when he was freed. 

"I'll go too," Minato added immediately. There was no way in hell he'd leave his student alone. 

"Me too."

That was Kushina who glared at everyone as if daring them to stop her. 

"You'll need a medic nin. We don't know in what condition Kakashi will be," Tsunade had stood up and stepped next to Orochimaru.

"I should go in case you encounter Hanzo again. Team Hiruzen is strongest when all three of the Sannin are there."

Jiraiya might appear as if he didn't care but the boy had grown on him.

"Don't think I will stay put in Konoha when Kakashi is in danger."

Everyone stared surprised at the raven-haired beauty that had cradled Anko in her arms and rubbed comforting her back.

"Mikoto, what about Itachi and your responsibilities towards the Uchiha clan?" Fugaku asked his wife incredulously.

Mikoto glared and snapped at him: "Maybe his father could look after Itachi for once whilst I'm away to save the boy my son as well as I consider family!"

"You haven't been on any active missions since Itachi's birth," reminded Kushina the other woman carefully. 

"I'm a Jounin just like you Kushina," she said proudly. "I've continued to do my training and I am confident to say that I am on par with the majority of this room."

The argument carried on and on whilst Sakumo watched everything silently from the shadows. Ever since he had stormed into the office and the Hokage had given him a summary of what happened, he had stood back and developed a plan of his own. 

Now that he saw how many people cared about his son, it only strengthened the decision he had made. 

Unnoticed by anyone he left the office through the window. He would bring his son home, no matter what.


	20. Chapter 20

Exhausted, Kakashi tried to pry open his blood crusted eyes. He didn't know how long he had been confined to this cold, gruesome torture room. 

Whilst he had made sure that his platoon as well as Fugaku's platoon were able to retreat, Hanzo hadn't hesitate to exploit his momentary weakness that was caused by the stray attack he had taken to the abdomen. Hanzo had mercilessly attacked him and had thrown the boy around like a rag doll! It had only shown the time traveler that although he was strong, his size was a disadvantage that he hadn't even realized before. Somewhen, after being thrown against rocks over and over again and almost gotten killed by Hanzo's kusarigama, he had lost consciousness and the next time he awoke he had found himself blindfolded, his chakra restrained and tied up to a metal table. 

His thoughts had momentarily flickered to his platoon and he had hoped that Mei had been able to lead everyone back to Konoha safely before they had moved on to the purple-haired girl that would hopelessly wait for his next letter and his father who would most likely be notified about his capture soon. Before he could think any longer about what was going to happen in Konoha, the door to his torture cell had creaked open and a foreign shinobi had walked in. Kakashi had known instantly that it had been an interrogator and he had instinctively done the one thing he had perfected during his life.

_Shutting out his emotions and pulling up an impenetrable barrier around his mind._

Kakashi had to give it to Ame's interrogator, they were good. 

First, they had started with physical torture, they had beaten Kakashi over and over near death. When that hadn't broken him they had started to drown him until he'd pass out. At first with cold water and later on with burning hot water but Kakashi had hidden everything he held dear, his memories, his morals, his mission, deep in his mind whilst the interrogator had dealt with nothing more than an empty shell. 

After probably the third day or so they had started to try to break Kakashi's mind instead of his physical form. When they had gotten nothing out of Kakashi other than screams and curses, they had left him alone in his cell, drenched in his own blood with broken bones and a tiredness that was so similar to the one he had felt during the Fourth Shinobi World War. Not even the times when he had passed out where refreshing it had only been another realm that was full of pain and terrors. 

A punch in his gut ripped him out of his half-asleep state and caused him to spit out blood. Kakashi groaned from the pain that coursed through his body and he wanted so desperately to let out the petrified screams that were caught in his throat, but his voice was already hoarse from the continues screaming he had done in the last couple of days.

"Wake up boy!" snarled a vicious looking old shinobi and pulled Kakashi up by his hair. 

"Hanzo-sama wants to conduct the next step of your torture. Maybe then you'll break and tell us something useful."

At that moment Kakashi knew he had to get out now if he didn't want to end up loosing his sanity and ultimately doom the shinobi world to the same faith again. The nightmares and flashbacks he had about his team, his adorable students which he had let get murdered by the hands of a mad man and an insane goddess, were slowly breaking his mind apart. 

Kakashi could hear them blaming him for their deaths, hating him for the favoritism he had shown in the first years of Team 7's creation, and despising him for being so weak as to let everything fall apart. At first, he had known that his students, Sakura, Sasuke, Naruto, would never say these things, would never call him a murderer but then it became harder to distinguish between reality and hallucination.

What days of torture from a man as strong and vicious as Hanzo the Salamander hadn't achieved was done by his own mind in no time at all.

So despite knowing the hopelessness of his actions the time traveler fought against the chakra cuffs searching for the tiniest sliver of his chakra and prepared himself for what would undoubtedly be considered a suicide mission. 

Kakashi had had faith in Konoha, in his father, in Orochimaru and in Mei to alert Hiruzen and get him out of here before it would come to the point where he'd change into a ruthless monster but it wasn't enough anymore. This time's Hiruzen wasn't the same that had seen Kakashi grown up, he was no Minato who wasn't afraid of consequences, he was no Tsunade that knew of his resilience and he was no Naruto who would march straight into Ame himself to free a fellow shinobi if needed to. No, Hiruzen was a war veteran from the Second Shinobi World War and from his point of view Kakashi should be considered dead. 

So when the door was thrown open again and Hanzo walked in, Kakashi let go of his last restraints and let out the war veteran of the Fourth Shinobi World War he had tried hard to lock away. In a suicidal move he forced his chakra, chakra that was blocked by chakra cuffs, out of his body at the same time busting his cuffs and disorientating the shinobi in the cell for a second. But a second was all Kakashi needed.

Finally free of the cuffs restraining him he didn't hesitate to plunge his hand into the eyes of the shinobi closest to him effectively blinding him, tacking a kunai from the man's weapon poach and throwing it with deadly aim at Hanzo. Then he fled. 

Pushing his chakra , which fought against being handled so roughly, forcefully into his legs, he leapt down the long, dark corridor. Behind him he could hear the enraged screams of Hanzo.

When turning a corner he was met with a handful shinobis that guarded the floor they were currently at. Fully using the momentary surprise of the guards, Kakashi formed a bastard version of his chidori and killed the first shinobi before the others even realised what was happening.

Kakashi felt his chakra coils burn and explode. And then when he stumbled, he realised he had handicapped himself even more as his chakra fought viciously against his hold. 

Grabbing the tanto the dead guard held in his hand, he jumped at the next guard with the intention of slitting his throat when he was forced to change his course because of a water dragon aimed at him. Kakashi knew that he had no chance in killing four shinobi in a ninjutsu battle, not when his chakra coils were almost entirely destroyed. With a roundhouse kick, which almost shattered his already weakened leg, he forced two shinobi to move back which gave him enough time to push his tanto into the kidney of another guard.But then he wasn't fast enough to throw himself to the side and the last shinobi got the chance to push a kunai in between his rips and Kakashi swore loudly.

Hearing rather then sensing Hanzo closing in, Kakashi ran. 

Dodging the four guards he sprinted up a staircase, almost toppling over when he slipped on the wet, mouldy surface. The time traveler heard the alarm bell ring through Ame and knew that his chance of survival was decreasing rapidly.

Kakashi was almost out of the interrogation sector when a storm of kunai and shuriken forced him to stop running. A team of eight shinobi had cut off his escape way. Behind him he could hear Hanzo and the four shinobi from before and somewhere in his panic-stricken mind he found the situation hilarious.

Him, a twelve almost thirteen year old Jounin, with nothing but a tanto in his hands against twelve Ame shinobi with full chakra reserves and Hanzo the Salamander. Not to mention that in a matter of minutes every available shinobi in Ame would be here as well and currently he was surrounded in a narrow staircase with no window near by or any way out. 

On paper, that battle had already been over before it started, but if Kakashi had learned anything from his students, then that nothing was impossible. 

One of the eight shinobi had impatiently thrown a water bullet jutsu into Kakashi's direction but had missed and instead hit the wall next to him and left a gaping hole.

Correction, he now had a way out. 

Not even thinking, the time traveler jumped out of the hole. Mid-jump he noticed that the attack had opened a way into the underground canalization of Ame. And from the meagre knowledge he had of Ame canalization meant a way out of this damn village! Not even flinching when his body hit the tossing water and his open injuries started to freaking burn, he continued to run. Running was all he could do in order to survive but he also noticed his stamina running out. Kakashi had long ago stopped carefully channelling his chakra and instead was now mercilessly pushing every last drop of chakra into his legs even when his chakra coils should be unusable. 

The pain of a lightning jutsu hit him in the back and he stumbled over. Gracelessly, Kakashi scrambled back to his feet and continued to run. If any of the shinobi caught up to him he'd die, he knew that. 

He was finally at the end of the canalization tunnel where every tunnel met and the garbage of Ame fell down in a thunderous waterfall when a water dragon jutsu wrapped itself around his leg and crushed every single bone! 

A sob escaped the war veteran when an unbearable pain shot though his leg and if it hadn't been for years of experience that had pushed his pain tolerance to new heights, he would have blacked out from the pain.

Driven by instinct he pushed the tanto with all his might down his leg and through the water dragon's head. As soon as his leg was free Kakashi didn't even hesitate for a second and let himself fall down the waterfall. Mid-fall, when his mind was taken over by pain and the simple desire to survive another minute, he used a technique that Sakura had shown him once during the war and which he had promised to never use. Forcing his chakra around his hand for the last time, he formed a bastard version of a chakra scalpel and cut of his nerves above his shattered leg.

Suddenly he could no longer feel the agonizing pain that had coursed through his body. 

But then he harshly dived into the thunderous river beneath him and the currents pulled him underwater, tossing him around but pushing him away from Ame. Kakashi fought his way to the surface and gasped desperately for air before he was once again pulled underwater and swept away. 

When Kakashi was sure that he had gotten away from the Ame shinobi, he heaved himself out of the river. For a moment he just lay between the bushes and dirt that surrounded the storming river, concentrating on his breathing and being happy that he had survived another minute. Then he scrambled to his knees, unable to put any weight on his broken leg. Even though he didn't feel anything from it he was unable to use it so he slowly, centimetre for centimetre, crawled up the riverbank and deeper into the forest.

Kakashi knew that even though he might have escaped Hanzo and his shinobi he'd die if he didn't reach a safe village soon. The water had been ice cold and he needed to get out of his drenched clothes if he didn't want to freeze to death. Not to forget that his wounds had started to get infected and although his leg was numb the rest of his body wasn't.

It must have been hours that he crawled in no particular direction, just where ever his feeling said home was. His clothes, or at least that what was left of them after the torture, were torn over and over again and the wet made them stick to Kakashi like a second skin. His bruises had bruises and more than once had he fallen over because his body didn't want to continue anymore. By one of his falls, he had twisted his left wrist when he attempted to catch himself and now he was moving with only one arm and one leg functioning. But his condition didn't make him less of a threat as before, if anything it made him even more. Kakashi kept going on pure survival instinct and that was a dangerous thing to do. The slightest sound made him go into war mode in the fraction of a second. A deer as well as a rabbit had already experienced what it changed him into.

Through all of that, his torture, his escape, and his crawling, he kept an image of the people he held dearest in front of his mind, remembering why he did what he did.

He kept remembering the way Sakura's eyes brightened whenever she had learned something new, the way Sasuke smirked when he had learned the chidori, and the way Naruto had smiled brightly when ever he was happy.

_Happy._

A condition that appeared so foreign to him.

And then, through the memories of his students, an image of Anko pushed through and Kakashi knew that he still had hope for happiness. He clung to the memory of her smile, her laughter and her unshakeable faith in him.

Suddenly his heightened Hatake senses smelled something. Something that reminded him of home, of safety, and of... family.

"Kakashi!"

When the time traveler heard the familiar voice relief, as well as fear, overcame him. Relief because he instinctively knew he was safe, he had reached home or at least a form of home and that was all he wanted. And fear because he couldn't hear another shinobi which meant that his stupid, stupid father had come alone and Kakashi was in no condition to protect him.

Tears left his eyes and when warm hands carefully touched him he finally passed out. 

When Sakumo had left Konoha a day ago with no plan whatsoever other than saving his son he hadn't been prepared for what he'd see. He knew that there was the possibility that Kakashi was long gone, had even partly accepted that he had lost the only remains of his pack, but he had also known that Kakashi was strong. As a father, he couldn't give up on his son until he had seen his corpse with his own eyes and until then he'd have faith in Kakashi and faith in Clary that she'd protect their son from above.

Sakumo had been prepared to infiltrate Ame himself in order to get to Kakashi, he'd been prepared to fight Hanzo tooth and nails for his son, but what he hadn't been prepared for was to find his son at the border of the Land of Rain and the Land of Fire, crawling on his knees through the forest with a wild look in his eyes. He had never seen Kakashi so ... so defeated? No that wasn't the right word. The shinobi he had seen crawling was a shinobi that clung desperately to the last tiny bit that kept him sane, determined to survive if only for another minute. It had broken Sakumo's heart to see his son in such a state and he swore that when they were back in Konoha he'd never let Kakashi go back onto a battlefield ever again. That was not the life he wanted for his son! 

And when Kakashi had passed out in the comfort of his father's company tears had slipped down Sakumo's face and he had wanted to scream out in fury. 

He had gently picked up his fragile son, his eyes glancing over the various injuries his young body held, and then he had taken to the treetops, intending to reach Konoha in half the time he had needed to reach the border. For once he wished he'd taken Minato with him, the blonde could have use his Hiraishin to get back to Konoha in a matter of minutes, but now he had to do his best with what he got. 

Sakumo had been running nonstop for almost four hours when he sensed something wrong. Suddenly they were surrounded by foreign shinobi, none of them wearing a hitai-ate indicating their affiliation. 

The silver-haired Jounin swore beneath his breath. It would be hard to protect his son whilst fighting twenty shinobis he knew nothing about. 

Evading a fireball jutsu, the White Fang jumped back and up a tree. Gently he put his son down, making sure that the boy couldn't fall down and ultimately into his death before jumping back down and engaging the enemy into a heated battle. 

However, the minimal movement and disappearance of the familiar warmth had been enough to throw Kakashi out of his unconsciousness. When the time traveler forced his eyes open painfully he saw his father fighting seriously for the first time in a while and it was a magnificent view. Sakumo's fighting style reminded him a lot of his own when he had fought to protect his genin, his pack, and now his father fought with the same determination and fearlessness in order to protect his pup, Kakashi. 

But as much as it touched him to see his father fight for him, he couldn't allow his father to keep fighting. It was _his_ job, _his_ mission, and _his_ purpose to protect his precious people!

With an expertise that had been drilled into him through many gruesome experiences, Kakashi checked himself as well as the other shinobi over. From the original twenty shinobi, Sakumo had already killed one so there were only nineteen left.

However, Kakashi had nothing on himself to fight the other nineteen. He had no weapon and if he forced anymore chakra through his already damaged chakra coils there was a high probability that he could never use chakra ever again. But in order to protect his father, he'd do it without a second thought! Though in order to do so, he'd first have to get down from the tree his father had put him on which proved to be more difficult than he expected, considering his broken leg and twisted wrist.

From his position he saw a shinobi coming from behind Sakumo and planning an attack from the Jounin's blind spot. And then he did something stupid, reckless, desperate, totally insane ... take your pick.

He flung himself down the tree, catching a branch with his healthy hand, using the momentum to change his flying direction and landed with an angry snarl on the shinobi's shoulder. With a small branch which he had grabbed during his stunt, he violently slammed into the shinobi's throat. With a puzzled cry, the shinobi fell to the ground, his hand moving instinctively to his bleeding throat but there was nothing he could do to prevent the inevitable. 

When the shinobi had fallen Kakashi had been flung to the other side of the clearing, crashing harshly against a tree and letting out a pained cry before scrambling back to his knees and holding the small branch so hard that his knuckles turned white.

Meanwhile, Sakumo had turned around, panic-stricken by the anguished scream that could only be from his pup and had watched in horrified amazement as one of the shinobi was killed by his barely conscious son. Sakumo finally understood why Kakashi had earned the nickname _Silver Reaper._

And then he saw something that took away his ability to breathe.

The time traveler had scrambled to his feet and was holding himself up against a tree stump when a kick from the side flung him forwards back to the ground. Snarling and hissing he tried to dodge the next kicks and punched but it was pointless. An especially hard kick threw him through the air across the clearing once more. 

_Enough!,_ was what Kakashi's body whispered whenever he forced himself to get up again and _Protect!,_ was what his mind was screeching incessantly. 

But now he had reached a point where even all his willpower couldn't change anything. After all, Kakashi was only human even if he forgot so himself sometimes. So when the next shinobi attacked with a katana ready to kill; _the same weapon Sasuke had adored,_ added his mind quietly; he couldn't move anymore.

With his eyes wide open he prepared himself for the pain but instead he had to watch as the katana meant for him, pierced his father's body.

"Dad?" Kakashi asked shakily, unable to form any coherent thoughts. 

Distracted, he noticed how the shinobi jumped back, pulling his katana carelessly out of his father's body, but his whole attention was on the silver-haired man that had taken a attack that wasn't meant for him. Sakumo couldn't hold on any longer and collapsed, but before he could hit the hard ground, small strong hands caught him gently. His heavy eyes caught sight of his son and he smiled tiredly while blood was dripping from the corner of his mouth. He was so, so proud of what his pup had become. 

"Kakashi, I am so proud of you," he whispered hoarsely.

Kakashi shook his head violently and begged: "No, stop!" but it only caused Sakumo to chuckle painfully. 

He was so so sorry. 

"Promise me that you'll find someone who isn't afraid to admit that they miss you. Someone who knows that you are not perfect but treats you as if you are. Someone who's biggest fear is losing you. Someone who gives their heart completely to you. Someone..." a painful cough interrupted his monologue, "...who says _'I love you'_ and means it. And someone who knows that when you say _'I'm okay'_ that you are not. Promise me not to cut people out of your life!" Sakumo looked pleadingly at his son. 

Tears were already streaming down Kakashi's face but he was frozen in place. He could do nothing but holding his father in his arms and listening to the last words of a dying man. 

_'I think I already did.'_ He didn't know where the thought came from but he also didn't protest against it. 

"I-I promise!" he whispered while sobs shuddered his fragile body.

A small smile adored Sakumo's face and he tried to take in his son's look for the last time through his already darkening sight.

"...I'm...proud..."

A scream broke through the silence that had befallen the battlefield. The scream made even the bravest shinobi shiver in fear, it was something so inhumane, something that spoke of more pain than bearable. 

Kakashi couldn't think straight. His mind was screaming in pain and the pieces of his heart that he had carefully glued back together since he came to this timeline shattered into the thinnest of dust. This time there was nothing he could glue back together and the last strings that had kept him from insanity had broken. 

One of the shinobi made the mistake to attack the grieving silver-haired boy. His throat was brutally ripped out.

With a gentleness he didn't think he had, Kakashi leaned his father against a tree.

When he had ripped the shinobi's throat out he had seen a familiar seal on his tongue and it had been enough to tell him who had send these shinobi after them. One thing was sure, if Kakashi ever reached Konoha, Danzo would die a painful death. Nothing could stop him from slaughtering this man.

The last thing the ROOT shinobi saw was a blazing Mangekyou Sharingan.

Hours later, Kakashi still sat in the same clearing, his father's head in his lap and gently stroking the soft silver hair. Around him were a total of twenty corpses, all brutally murdered and ripped into pieces but he didn't care. He didn't care that he was drenched in the blood of those corpses, didn't care that he was barely alive, he just didn't care anymore.

A thunderstorm had started and it resembled all just too well Kakashi's mind.

Once again, Konoha had lost its White Fang and a boy his father. But this time Kakashi had no one else to blame but himself. 

That was also how the rescue team found him. 

When the eight shinobi, consisting of Minato, Orochimaru, Jiraiya, Tsunade, Mei, a Nara, a Yamanaka, and an Akimichi, broke through the trees into the clearing they were frozen in place by the sight before them. 

Everyone had known that something terribly had happened when a troubled chakra signature could be felt throughout the Land of Fire but nobody had been prepared for that. Nobody had expected that the origin of that howling and grieving chakra was a young silver-haired boy. 

When they had first seen him, heaved up against a tree stump with his father's head in his lap, they had thought he was dead. In all ways, the boy certainly _looked_ dead. His hair was a mess, his eyes were bloodshot and small clear lines on his bloodied face implied that he had cry endlessly. And around the two Hatake? Twenty corpses brutally murdered and ripped into pieces. It was a massacre!

The Yamanaka kunoichi had to turn around and emptied her stomach at the sight of so much blood. Her teammates, the Nara and the Akimichi, had turned snow white and made signs to follow their teammate's example.

"Kakashi?" after minutes of being frozen, Minato hesitantly called out to his student. 

But the boy's eyes didn't even move from his father's body, instead he flung a kunai with unexpected force and accuracy in the direction of the man that called out to him before letting his hand fall heavily back to the ground. 

That throw had been so fast and unexpected that the kunai had grazed Minato's face slightly, drawing blood. Incredulous the blonde's hand moved to his face.

"Kakashi, it's me, Minato-sensei," he tried to call out for the boy again but he got no reaction. 

Helplessly he turned to his teammates. He couldn't expect much help from the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, they were still trying to calm their stomachs, so his gaze searched the three Sannin for help. 

"He's not in his right mind," said Orochimaru slowly, his snake-like eyes taking in the broken boy before them. He had feared that it would be bad but not _that_ bad!

"You know how much his father meant to him, Minato. I guess he won't be able to return to normal for a long time if at all. I don't know what happened here but I do know that Kakashi has lost it."

Minato had never been really scared of anything but seeing Kakashi like this, scared him to the core. That boy leaning against the tree had nothing in common with his student.

"Maybe we should end his suffering."

That sentence hang heavily in the air and even the Ino-Shika-Cho trio stared puzzled at the white-haired Sannin.

The first one to move after that crazy statement was Mei and she didn't hesitate to leap at the Sannin. 

"What the hell Jiraiya?" snarled Orochimaru and glared at his teammate whilst Minato couldn't believe that his sensei had suggested something so unreasonable.

Surrendering, Jiraiya put his arms in the air: "I mean, look at him! Really look at him. Do you know what happens to shinobi that go insane? They make a bloodbath before killing themselves. The slightest thing can trigger them, it could be something simple like a sneeze. Do you want to bring a living time bomb into Konoha? Don't you think it would be kinder to him to end it here?"

"Shut up Sensei!" snarled Minato now and threw angry glares at the white-haired man. "I don't care what you say that is still Kakashi you are talking about not some animal you can simply slaughter! Hokage-sama ordered to bring him back _alive_ so don't talk about ending his suffering again!"

Jiraiya knew that he had crossed a line when Minato out of all people snarled at him. He didn't really want to kill the boy, not only because Hiruzen had ordered them to bring him back alive but also because he liked him. But exactly that was the reason why he had even suggested that horribly thing. He saw the pain in the boy's eyes, not only the mental but also the physical. He had seen the black marks on Kakashi's arms that were a telltale sign of chakra poisoning that would ultimately kill him in a painful way in a couple of hours if no miracle appeared. And from the look Tsunade gave him, he knew that she had seen it too and understood why he had said it. 

Minato slowly walked towards the father-son pair, his heart grieving for the loss of a close friend and fully prepared to dodge another kunai but nothing happened. Even when he picked up the trembling boy and Orochimaru burnt the corpses and gently lifted up Sakumo, Kakashi didn't do anything. And seeing him like that scared him even more than when he threw kunai around. Because now Kakashi was empty. 


	21. Chapter 20

Exhausted, Kakashi tried to pry open his blood crusted eyes. He didn't know how long he had been confined to this cold, gruesome torture room. 

Whilst he had made sure that his platoon as well as Fugaku's platoon were able to retreat, Hanzo hadn't hesitate to exploit his momentary weakness that was caused by the stray attack he had taken to the abdomen. Hanzo had mercilessly attacked him and had thrown the boy around like a rag doll! It had only shown the time traveler that although he was strong, his size was a disadvantage that he hadn't even realized before. Somewhen, after being thrown against rocks over and over again and almost gotten killed by Hanzo's kusarigama, he had lost consciousness and the next time he awoke he had found himself blindfolded, his chakra restrained and tied up to a metal table. 

His thoughts had momentarily flickered to his platoon and he had hoped that Mei had been able to lead everyone back to Konoha safely before they had moved on to the purple-haired girl that would hopelessly wait for his next letter and his father who would most likely be notified about his capture soon. Before he could think any longer about what was going to happen in Konoha, the door to his torture cell had creaked open and a foreign shinobi had walked in. Kakashi had known instantly that it had been an interrogator and he had instinctively done the one thing he had perfected during his life.

_Shutting out his emotions and pulling up an impenetrable barrier around his mind._

Kakashi had to give it to Ame's interrogator, they were good. 

First, they had started with physical torture, they had beaten Kakashi over and over near death. When that hadn't broken him they had started to drown him until he'd pass out. At first with cold water and later on with burning hot water but Kakashi had hidden everything he held dear, his memories, his morals, his mission, deep in his mind whilst the interrogator had dealt with nothing more than an empty shell. 

After probably the third day or so they had started to try to break Kakashi's mind instead of his physical form. When they had gotten nothing out of Kakashi other than screams and curses, they had left him alone in his cell, drenched in his own blood with broken bones and a tiredness that was so similar to the one he had felt during the Fourth Shinobi World War. Not even the times when he had passed out where refreshing it had only been another realm that was full of pain and terrors. 

A punch in his gut ripped him out of his half-asleep state and caused him to spit out blood. Kakashi groaned from the pain that coursed through his body and he wanted so desperately to let out the petrified screams that were caught in his throat, but his voice was already hoarse from the continues screaming he had done in the last couple of days.

"Wake up boy!" snarled a vicious looking old shinobi and pulled Kakashi up by his hair. 

"Hanzo-sama wants to conduct the next step of your torture. Maybe then you'll break and tell us something useful."

At that moment Kakashi knew he had to get out now if he didn't want to end up loosing his sanity and ultimately doom the shinobi world to the same faith again. The nightmares and flashbacks he had about his team, his adorable students which he had let get murdered by the hands of a mad man and an insane goddess, were slowly breaking his mind apart. 

Kakashi could hear them blaming him for their deaths, hating him for the favoritism he had shown in the first years of Team 7's creation, and despising him for being so weak as to let everything fall apart. At first, he had known that his students, Sakura, Sasuke, Naruto, would never say these things, would never call him a murderer but then it became harder to distinguish between reality and hallucination.

What days of torture from a man as strong and vicious as Hanzo the Salamander hadn't achieved was done by his own mind in no time at all.

So despite knowing the hopelessness of his actions the time traveler fought against the chakra cuffs searching for the tiniest sliver of his chakra and prepared himself for what would undoubtedly be considered a suicide mission. 

Kakashi had had faith in Konoha, in his father, in Orochimaru and in Mei to alert Hiruzen and get him out of here before it would come to the point where he'd change into a ruthless monster but it wasn't enough anymore. This time's Hiruzen wasn't the same that had seen Kakashi grown up, he was no Minato who wasn't afraid of consequences, he was no Tsunade that knew of his resilience and he was no Naruto who would march straight into Ame himself to free a fellow shinobi if needed to. No, Hiruzen was a war veteran from the Second Shinobi World War and from his point of view Kakashi should be considered dead. 

So when the door was thrown open again and Hanzo walked in, Kakashi let go of his last restraints and let out the war veteran of the Fourth Shinobi World War he had tried hard to lock away. In a suicidal move he forced his chakra, chakra that was blocked by chakra cuffs, out of his body at the same time busting his cuffs and disorientating the shinobi in the cell for a second. But a second was all Kakashi needed.

Finally free of the cuffs restraining him he didn't hesitate to plunge his hand into the eyes of the shinobi closest to him effectively blinding him, tacking a kunai from the man's weapon poach and throwing it with deadly aim at Hanzo. Then he fled. 

Pushing his chakra , which fought against being handled so roughly, forcefully into his legs, he leapt down the long, dark corridor. Behind him he could hear the enraged screams of Hanzo.

When turning a corner he was met with a handful shinobis that guarded the floor they were currently at. Fully using the momentary surprise of the guards, Kakashi formed a bastard version of his chidori and killed the first shinobi before the others even realised what was happening.

Kakashi felt his chakra coils burn and explode. And then when he stumbled, he realised he had handicapped himself even more as his chakra fought viciously against his hold. 

Grabbing the tanto the dead guard held in his hand, he jumped at the next guard with the intention of slitting his throat when he was forced to change his course because of a water dragon aimed at him. Kakashi knew that he had no chance in killing four shinobi in a ninjutsu battle, not when his chakra coils were almost entirely destroyed. With a roundhouse kick, which almost shattered his already weakened leg, he forced two shinobi to move back which gave him enough time to push his tanto into the kidney of another guard.But then he wasn't fast enough to throw himself to the side and the last shinobi got the chance to push a kunai in between his rips and Kakashi swore loudly.

Hearing rather then sensing Hanzo closing in, Kakashi ran. 

Dodging the four guards he sprinted up a staircase, almost toppling over when he slipped on the wet, mouldy surface. The time traveler heard the alarm bell ring through Ame and knew that his chance of survival was decreasing rapidly.

Kakashi was almost out of the interrogation sector when a storm of kunai and shuriken forced him to stop running. A team of eight shinobi had cut off his escape way. Behind him he could hear Hanzo and the four shinobi from before and somewhere in his panic-stricken mind he found the situation hilarious.

Him, a twelve almost thirteen year old Jounin, with nothing but a tanto in his hands against twelve Ame shinobi with full chakra reserves and Hanzo the Salamander. Not to mention that in a matter of minutes every available shinobi in Ame would be here as well and currently he was surrounded in a narrow staircase with no window near by or any way out. 

On paper, that battle had already been over before it started, but if Kakashi had learned anything from his students, then that nothing was impossible. 

One of the eight shinobi had impatiently thrown a water bullet jutsu into Kakashi's direction but had missed and instead hit the wall next to him and left a gaping hole.

Correction, he now had a way out. 

Not even thinking, the time traveler jumped out of the hole. Mid-jump he noticed that the attack had opened a way into the underground canalization of Ame. And from the meagre knowledge he had of Ame canalization meant a way out of this damn village! Not even flinching when his body hit the tossing water and his open injuries started to freaking burn, he continued to run. Running was all he could do in order to survive but he also noticed his stamina running out. Kakashi had long ago stopped carefully channelling his chakra and instead was now mercilessly pushing every last drop of chakra into his legs even when his chakra coils should be unusable. 

The pain of a lightning jutsu hit him in the back and he stumbled over. Gracelessly, Kakashi scrambled back to his feet and continued to run. If any of the shinobi caught up to him he'd die, he knew that. 

He was finally at the end of the canalization tunnel where every tunnel met and the garbage of Ame fell down in a thunderous waterfall when a water dragon jutsu wrapped itself around his leg and crushed every single bone! 

A sob escaped the war veteran when an unbearable pain shot though his leg and if it hadn't been for years of experience that had pushed his pain tolerance to new heights, he would have blacked out from the pain.

Driven by instinct he pushed the tanto with all his might down his leg and through the water dragon's head. As soon as his leg was free Kakashi didn't even hesitate for a second and let himself fall down the waterfall. Mid-fall, when his mind was taken over by pain and the simple desire to survive another minute, he used a technique that Sakura had shown him once during the war and which he had promised to never use. Forcing his chakra around his hand for the last time, he formed a bastard version of a chakra scalpel and cut of his nerves above his shattered leg.

Suddenly he could no longer feel the agonizing pain that had coursed through his body. 

But then he harshly dived into the thunderous river beneath him and the currents pulled him underwater, tossing him around but pushing him away from Ame. Kakashi fought his way to the surface and gasped desperately for air before he was once again pulled underwater and swept away. 

When Kakashi was sure that he had gotten away from the Ame shinobi, he heaved himself out of the river. For a moment he just lay between the bushes and dirt that surrounded the storming river, concentrating on his breathing and being happy that he had survived another minute. Then he scrambled to his knees, unable to put any weight on his broken leg. Even though he didn't feel anything from it he was unable to use it so he slowly, centimetre for centimetre, crawled up the riverbank and deeper into the forest.

Kakashi knew that even though he might have escaped Hanzo and his shinobi he'd die if he didn't reach a safe village soon. The water had been ice cold and he needed to get out of his drenched clothes if he didn't want to freeze to death. Not to forget that his wounds had started to get infected and although his leg was numb the rest of his body wasn't.

It must have been hours that he crawled in no particular direction, just where ever his feeling said home was. His clothes, or at least that what was left of them after the torture, were torn over and over again and the wet made them stick to Kakashi like a second skin. His bruises had bruises and more than once had he fallen over because his body didn't want to continue anymore. By one of his falls, he had twisted his left wrist when he attempted to catch himself and now he was moving with only one arm and one leg functioning. But his condition didn't make him less of a threat as before, if anything it made him even more. Kakashi kept going on pure survival instinct and that was a dangerous thing to do. The slightest sound made him go into war mode in the fraction of a second. A deer as well as a rabbit had already experienced what it changed him into.

Through all of that, his torture, his escape, and his crawling, he kept an image of the people he held dearest in front of his mind, remembering why he did what he did.

He kept remembering the way Sakura's eyes brightened whenever she had learned something new, the way Sasuke smirked when he had learned the chidori, and the way Naruto had smiled brightly when ever he was happy.

_Happy._

A condition that appeared so foreign to him.

And then, through the memories of his students, an image of Anko pushed through and Kakashi knew that he still had hope for happiness. He clung to the memory of her smile, her laughter and her unshakeable faith in him.

Suddenly his heightened Hatake senses smelled something. Something that reminded him of home, of safety, and of... family.

"Kakashi!"

When the time traveler heard the familiar voice relief, as well as fear, overcame him. Relief because he instinctively knew he was safe, he had reached home or at least a form of home and that was all he wanted. And fear because he couldn't hear another shinobi which meant that his stupid, stupid father had come alone and Kakashi was in no condition to protect him.

Tears left his eyes and when warm hands carefully touched him he finally passed out. 

When Sakumo had left Konoha a day ago with no plan whatsoever other than saving his son he hadn't been prepared for what he'd see. He knew that there was the possibility that Kakashi was long gone, had even partly accepted that he had lost the only remains of his pack, but he had also known that Kakashi was strong. As a father, he couldn't give up on his son until he had seen his corpse with his own eyes and until then he'd have faith in Kakashi and faith in Clary that she'd protect their son from above.

Sakumo had been prepared to infiltrate Ame himself in order to get to Kakashi, he'd been prepared to fight Hanzo tooth and nails for his son, but what he hadn't been prepared for was to find his son at the border of the Land of Rain and the Land of Fire, crawling on his knees through the forest with a wild look in his eyes. He had never seen Kakashi so ... so defeated? No that wasn't the right word. The shinobi he had seen crawling was a shinobi that clung desperately to the last tiny bit that kept him sane, determined to survive if only for another minute. It had broken Sakumo's heart to see his son in such a state and he swore that when they were back in Konoha he'd never let Kakashi go back onto a battlefield ever again. That was not the life he wanted for his son! 

And when Kakashi had passed out in the comfort of his father's company tears had slipped down Sakumo's face and he had wanted to scream out in fury. 

He had gently picked up his fragile son, his eyes glancing over the various injuries his young body held, and then he had taken to the treetops, intending to reach Konoha in half the time he had needed to reach the border. For once he wished he'd taken Minato with him, the blonde could have use his Hiraishin to get back to Konoha in a matter of minutes, but now he had to do his best with what he got. 

Sakumo had been running nonstop for almost four hours when he sensed something wrong. Suddenly they were surrounded by foreign shinobi, none of them wearing a hitai-ate indicating their affiliation. 

The silver-haired Jounin swore beneath his breath. It would be hard to protect his son whilst fighting twenty shinobis he knew nothing about. 

Evading a fireball jutsu, the White Fang jumped back and up a tree. Gently he put his son down, making sure that the boy couldn't fall down and ultimately into his death before jumping back down and engaging the enemy into a heated battle. 

However, the minimal movement and disappearance of the familiar warmth had been enough to throw Kakashi out of his unconsciousness. When the time traveler forced his eyes open painfully he saw his father fighting seriously for the first time in a while and it was a magnificent view. Sakumo's fighting style reminded him a lot of his own when he had fought to protect his genin, his pack, and now his father fought with the same determination and fearlessness in order to protect his pup, Kakashi. 

But as much as it touched him to see his father fight for him, he couldn't allow his father to keep fighting. It was _his_ job, _his_ mission, and _his_ purpose to protect his precious people!

With an expertise that had been drilled into him through many gruesome experiences, Kakashi checked himself as well as the other shinobi over. From the original twenty shinobi, Sakumo had already killed one so there were only nineteen left.

However, Kakashi had nothing on himself to fight the other nineteen. He had no weapon and if he forced anymore chakra through his already damaged chakra coils there was a high probability that he could never use chakra ever again. But in order to protect his father, he'd do it without a second thought! Though in order to do so, he'd first have to get down from the tree his father had put him on which proved to be more difficult than he expected, considering his broken leg and twisted wrist.

From his position he saw a shinobi coming from behind Sakumo and planning an attack from the Jounin's blind spot. And then he did something stupid, reckless, desperate, totally insane ... take your pick.

He flung himself down the tree, catching a branch with his healthy hand, using the momentum to change his flying direction and landed with an angry snarl on the shinobi's shoulder. With a small branch which he had grabbed during his stunt, he violently slammed into the shinobi's throat. With a puzzled cry, the shinobi fell to the ground, his hand moving instinctively to his bleeding throat but there was nothing he could do to prevent the inevitable. 

When the shinobi had fallen Kakashi had been flung to the other side of the clearing, crashing harshly against a tree and letting out a pained cry before scrambling back to his knees and holding the small branch so hard that his knuckles turned white.

Meanwhile, Sakumo had turned around, panic-stricken by the anguished scream that could only be from his pup and had watched in horrified amazement as one of the shinobi was killed by his barely conscious son. Sakumo finally understood why Kakashi had earned the nickname _Silver Reaper._

And then he saw something that took away his ability to breathe.

The time traveler had scrambled to his feet and was holding himself up against a tree stump when a kick from the side flung him forwards back to the ground. Snarling and hissing he tried to dodge the next kicks and punched but it was pointless. An especially hard kick threw him through the air across the clearing once more. 

_Enough!,_ was what Kakashi's body whispered whenever he forced himself to get up again and _Protect!,_ was what his mind was screeching incessantly. 

But now he had reached a point where even all his willpower couldn't change anything. After all, Kakashi was only human even if he forgot so himself sometimes. So when the next shinobi attacked with a katana ready to kill; _the same weapon Sasuke had adored,_ added his mind quietly; he couldn't move anymore.

With his eyes wide open he prepared himself for the pain but instead he had to watch as the katana meant for him, pierced his father's body.

"Dad?" Kakashi asked shakily, unable to form any coherent thoughts. 

Distracted, he noticed how the shinobi jumped back, pulling his katana carelessly out of his father's body, but his whole attention was on the silver-haired man that had taken a attack that wasn't meant for him. Sakumo couldn't hold on any longer and collapsed, but before he could hit the hard ground, small strong hands caught him gently. His heavy eyes caught sight of his son and he smiled tiredly while blood was dripping from the corner of his mouth. He was so, so proud of what his pup had become. 

"Kakashi, I am so proud of you," he whispered hoarsely.

Kakashi shook his head violently and begged: "No, stop!" but it only caused Sakumo to chuckle painfully. 

He was so so sorry. 

"Promise me that you'll find someone who isn't afraid to admit that they miss you. Someone who knows that you are not perfect but treats you as if you are. Someone who's biggest fear is losing you. Someone who gives their heart completely to you. Someone..." a painful cough interrupted his monologue, "...who says _'I love you'_ and means it. And someone who knows that when you say _'I'm okay'_ that you are not. Promise me not to cut people out of your life!" Sakumo looked pleadingly at his son. 

Tears were already streaming down Kakashi's face but he was frozen in place. He could do nothing but holding his father in his arms and listening to the last words of a dying man. 

_'I think I already did.'_ He didn't know where the thought came from but he also didn't protest against it. 

"I-I promise!" he whispered while sobs shuddered his fragile body.

A small smile adored Sakumo's face and he tried to take in his son's look for the last time through his already darkening sight.

"...I'm...proud..."

A scream broke through the silence that had befallen the battlefield. The scream made even the bravest shinobi shiver in fear, it was something so inhumane, something that spoke of more pain than bearable. 

Kakashi couldn't think straight. His mind was screaming in pain and the pieces of his heart that he had carefully glued back together since he came to this timeline shattered into the thinnest of dust. This time there was nothing he could glue back together and the last strings that had kept him from insanity had broken. 

One of the shinobi made the mistake to attack the grieving silver-haired boy. His throat was brutally ripped out.

With a gentleness he didn't think he had, Kakashi leaned his father against a tree.

When he had ripped the shinobi's throat out he had seen a familiar seal on his tongue and it had been enough to tell him who had send these shinobi after them. One thing was sure, if Kakashi ever reached Konoha, Danzo would die a painful death. Nothing could stop him from slaughtering this man.

The last thing the ROOT shinobi saw was a blazing Mangekyou Sharingan.

Hours later, Kakashi still sat in the same clearing, his father's head in his lap and gently stroking the soft silver hair. Around him were a total of twenty corpses, all brutally murdered and ripped into pieces but he didn't care. He didn't care that he was drenched in the blood of those corpses, didn't care that he was barely alive, he just didn't care anymore.

A thunderstorm had started and it resembled all just too well Kakashi's mind.

Once again, Konoha had lost its White Fang and a boy his father. But this time Kakashi had no one else to blame but himself. 

That was also how the rescue team found him. 

When the eight shinobi, consisting of Minato, Orochimaru, Jiraiya, Tsunade, Mei, a Nara, a Yamanaka, and an Akimichi, broke through the trees into the clearing they were frozen in place by the sight before them. 

Everyone had known that something terribly had happened when a troubled chakra signature could be felt throughout the Land of Fire but nobody had been prepared for that. Nobody had expected that the origin of that howling and grieving chakra was a young silver-haired boy. 

When they had first seen him, heaved up against a tree stump with his father's head in his lap, they had thought he was dead. In all ways, the boy certainly _looked_ dead. His hair was a mess, his eyes were bloodshot and small clear lines on his bloodied face implied that he had cry endlessly. And around the two Hatake? Twenty corpses brutally murdered and ripped into pieces. It was a massacre!

The Yamanaka kunoichi had to turn around and emptied her stomach at the sight of so much blood. Her teammates, the Nara and the Akimichi, had turned snow white and made signs to follow their teammate's example.

"Kakashi?" after minutes of being frozen, Minato hesitantly called out to his student. 

But the boy's eyes didn't even move from his father's body, instead he flung a kunai with unexpected force and accuracy in the direction of the man that called out to him before letting his hand fall heavily back to the ground. 

That throw had been so fast and unexpected that the kunai had grazed Minato's face slightly, drawing blood. Incredulous the blonde's hand moved to his face.

"Kakashi, it's me, Minato-sensei," he tried to call out for the boy again but he got no reaction. 

Helplessly he turned to his teammates. He couldn't expect much help from the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, they were still trying to calm their stomachs, so his gaze searched the three Sannin for help. 

"He's not in his right mind," said Orochimaru slowly, his snake-like eyes taking in the broken boy before them. He had feared that it would be bad but not _that_ bad!

"You know how much his father meant to him, Minato. I guess he won't be able to return to normal for a long time if at all. I don't know what happened here but I do know that Kakashi has lost it."

Minato had never been really scared of anything but seeing Kakashi like this, scared him to the core. That boy leaning against the tree had nothing in common with his student.

"Maybe we should end his suffering."

That sentence hang heavily in the air and even the Ino-Shika-Cho trio stared puzzled at the white-haired Sannin.

The first one to move after that crazy statement was Mei and she didn't hesitate to leap at the Sannin. 

"What the hell Jiraiya?" snarled Orochimaru and glared at his teammate whilst Minato couldn't believe that his sensei had suggested something so unreasonable.

Surrendering, Jiraiya put his arms in the air: "I mean, look at him! Really look at him. Do you know what happens to shinobi that go insane? They make a bloodbath before killing themselves. The slightest thing can trigger them, it could be something simple like a sneeze. Do you want to bring a living time bomb into Konoha? Don't you think it would be kinder to him to end it here?"

"Shut up Sensei!" snarled Minato now and threw angry glares at the white-haired man. "I don't care what you say that is still Kakashi you are talking about not some animal you can simply slaughter! Hokage-sama ordered to bring him back _alive_ so don't talk about ending his suffering again!"

Jiraiya knew that he had crossed a line when Minato out of all people snarled at him. He didn't really want to kill the boy, not only because Hiruzen had ordered them to bring him back alive but also because he liked him. But exactly that was the reason why he had even suggested that horribly thing. He saw the pain in the boy's eyes, not only the mental but also the physical. He had seen the black marks on Kakashi's arms that were a telltale sign of chakra poisoning that would ultimately kill him in a painful way in a couple of hours if no miracle appeared. And from the look Tsunade gave him, he knew that she had seen it too and understood why he had said it. 

Minato slowly walked towards the father-son pair, his heart grieving for the loss of a close friend and fully prepared to dodge another kunai but nothing happened. Even when he picked up the trembling boy and Orochimaru burnt the corpses and gently lifted up Sakumo, Kakashi didn't do anything. And seeing him like that scared him even more than when he threw kunai around. Because now Kakashi was empty. 


	22. Chapter 21

Kakashi awoke in the comfort of a warm hospital bed.

His tired eyes shifted through the room analysing his surroundings. Partly laying on his hospital bed was Anko and he could distinctly smell the fine touch of salt on her. The dark bags beneath her eyes also indicated that she had been crying recently.

Then close to Anko sat Genma, sleeping peacefully but having his hand around his weapon poach ready to draw a kunai if needed. And on a seemingly uncomfortable plastic chair sat Orochimaru.

Suddenly everything that Kakashi had unconsciously blocked out came back. His capture, the torture, the escape, the fight with the ROOT shinobi and ... his father's death. The image of his father's corps, bloodied and with a stab wound close to his heart, was burnt into his mind and just like the first time, he'd never be able to forget it. 

He had failed in the one purpose he lived for: protecting his precious people.

So what was left for him now since he failed in doing so? 

What was he meant to do? 

How could he go on living when the past started to repeat itself? 

First his father, would Obito be the next one to die? Had all of his training and planning been for nothing? 

How could he even dream of killing Madara when he hadn't even been strong enough to beat Hanzo? 

Numbly, Kakashi hadn't even noticed how his feet had dragged him out of the hospital room. Leaning heavily on the wall, he continued to walk outside. He needed to get out of the building! His breathing had increased and he felt like drowning.

The loud voices in his head overrode everything.

The cries, the screams, the curses.

They had haunted him ever since the Fourth Shinobi World War, but right now they were louder than ever.

The time traveler numbly staggered around Konoha, he was weakened and could barely stand by himself but nothing would stop him from killing the one that should have already been six feet under. His mind had shut off his rationality and his sense of danger so he carelessly wandered into Danzo's quarters. He was ignorant to his naked feet that cut themselves open on the rough ground, leaving behind bloody footprints, as well as to the ROOT shinobi that hid in dark corners and watched him closely. 

Stopping in front of Danzo's house door he stared blankly into the distance. Kakashi could have sworn that through all the pained and angry cries in his mind he had heard the agitated voices of his students begging him to stop. For a moment he hesitated and started to doubt what he was doing but than the anguished cries got louder again and drowned out his student's quiet pleas and he forcefully pushed the wooden door open.

"You're even more stupid than I thought you'd be if you plan on killing Danzo by yourself in your current condition."

Kakashi turned around but nothing in his blank face indicated that he was surprised to see Orochimaru. There was just an eerie emptiness that caused shivers to run down Orochimaru's spine. 

However, despite his blank face, Kakashi had been indeed surprised to see the Snake Sannin. Furthermore he hadn't been able to sense him but now that he thought about it... he still couldn't sense him and ... he couldn't feel his own chakra at all... He probably had fried his chakra coils when using the Mangekyo Sharingan but... he couldn't bring himself to care. 

Coldly, Kakashi turned away from Orochimaru with the intention to continue on his way.

"Are you really giving up Kakashi?" Orochimaru shouted, his voice showing the disappointment and sadness he felt. 

But could he really be disappointed? Could he really blame the time traveler for giving up?

 _'No,'_ he decided in that moment. 

No, he could not blame the time traveler for his choices but that didn't mean that he couldn't try to stop him with going through with them.

_'.... Giving up... ?'_

_**~Flashback~** _

_"I'm not gonna run away. I never go back on my word! That's my nindo, my ninja way!"_

_"What I have is not a dream, because I will make it a reality. I'm going to restore my clan and kill a certain someone."_

_"Rule number 1: No medic ninja shall ever stop medical treatment until the lives of their party members have come to an end."_

_**~Flashback End~** _

_'Team 7 doesn't give up!'_

"I-I am not giving up," he stuttered hoarsely.

"Are you sure?" the Snake Sannin asked harshly. "Because right now you are giving up on your life, you're giving up on your friends and you're giving up on your teammates."

Orochimaru slowly walked closer to the silver-haired boy.

"Come back Kakashi and rest. We will avenge Sakumo but you don't have to do it on your own."

His hand rested hesitantly on the boy's shoulder. When Kakashi nodded minimally, relief filled the Sannin. Maybe there was a chance that Kakashi would return to his old self, but then he caught a glance of his eyes. 

Those cold and empty eyes. 

And that hope shattered and he wanted to slap himself for being so foolish. Kakashi could never be the same, and they'd be lucky if he got control over the underlying insanity in his eyes. Deep sorrow filled the Sannin's heart for the broken boy.

Kakashi didn't allow Orochimaru to carry him back to the hospital so the way back took almost an hour. They had to stop a couple of times because Kakashi just couldn't go on so when they finally reached the hospital room the sun had begun to rise.

From outside they could hear the quiet crying of a girl and the pointless attempts of a boy to calm her.

Orochimaru pitied the time traveler, he wouldn't want to be in his shoes when it came to dealing with Anko and Genma but when he looked closer at the boy, he alarmingly couldn't see a sign of recognition on his face. Silently, the Sannin opened the door and gently pushed Kakashi inside. 

The gaze of the two gennin scurried over towards the newcomers and a hysteric cry left Anko's lips. She was on her feet and next to Kakashi before Genma was able to stop her. Giving in to her instincts she first slapped the silver-haired boy across the face before she threw her arms around him.

"You stupid, idiotic, dumb baka! How could you?" she cried into his chest. "You promised me! How could you be so selfless? Why can't you be selfish for once?"

Kakashi let the purple-haired girl wrap her arms around him and cry into his chest but his eyes continued to be void of emotions. He just stood there - in the middle of the hospital room - letting his arms hang motionlessly. 

Usually, he would have hugged Anko back and reassured her that he was indeed okay but now he couldn't. He didn't feel anything. No guilt for worrying his precious people. No regret for leaving the hospital. No relief that he was still alive. Yeah, not even sadness for his father's death. He was just ... empty. It was as if he had turned into a puppet and Orochimaru alarmingly realized that this Kakashi was almost an exact copy of the one he had seen in Kakashi's memories, maybe even worse.

"You baka!" sobbed Anko again and tightened her hug, she didn't let herself get deterred from his listless behaviour. 

Genma slowly walked next to his two friends, staring harshly at his silver-haired friend. His usually laid back smirk had vanished and was replaced with a deep frown. The brunette really didn't like the empty look in Kakashi's eyes.

"Anko is right, you're a real baka ... but it's good to see you again," he wanted to greet Kakashi with their usual bro-hug but his friend didn't show any sign of doing so. 

"Please let go," whispered Kakashi hoarsely, everything in him screamed to get away from the possible threat but ... this was _Anko_ , he reminded himself. 

Reluctantly, Anko let go of him and hastily wiped away her tears. Not sparring another glance at his friends the time traveler turned expectantly to the Snake Sannin.

"When can I leave and join my platoon again?" he asked monotone, already planning what he'd need to get before leaving Konoha again.

"What?" three simultaneous shouts rang through the hospital room and Anko whispered quietly: "You died, Kakashi! It is a miracle that you're still alive!"

Thick tears rolled down her cheeks again and Genma hastily wrapped his arms comforting around her. 

Glaring, he waited of a reaction from his silver-haired friend, anything, heck he'd be happy about a furrowed brow, but nothing. Nada. There was no fleeting expression of shock or surprise, no twitch in his hardened face, not even a slight tremble of his hands only an almost bored, "Oh."

And that carelessness made Genma furious. Not at Kakashi, Kami forbid, but at all the people that allowed those things to happen to his friend. 

"Oh? That's it?" asked Anko hysterically. 

She couldn't believe what she'd heard.

"Yes. Orochimaru!"

Unconsciously, the Snake Sannin straightened his posture at the cold commanding tone.

"I asked when I can leave."

Orochimaru grimaced. Why did he have to be the one to tell Kakashi that the war was basically over for him? Hiruzen would never allow the boy to be back on the battlefield and this time he had to agree with his sensei. He even doubted that Kakashi would be able to cheat himself through the mental evaluation test this time. 

"Kakashi, listen. How much do you remember from before?"

For a second Orochimaru thought to have seen something akin to hatred in the time traveler's eyes but it was so fleeting that it might have very well been his imagination.

"ROOT killed my father, I killed the Root shinobi, then you came and I passed out."

 _'There was not even a slight hesitation at the mentioning of his father,'_ thought Orochimaru and had to suppress a shudder. _'And he didn't just kill the ROOT, he slaughtered them.'_

"Well, that is all correct. After you passed out the team took the fastest way back to Konoha."

_**~Flashback~** _

_The team had taken to the treetops and was currently running at a neck-breaking speed. In another situation, Minato would have used a Hiraishin marker to teleport Kakashi and himself to Konoha to give his student the much needed medical care but Tsunade had quickly put a stop to this plan._

_When she had checked Kakashi to make sure he'd be alright to travel she had only been able to stop Minato from leaving in the last second._

_What had appeared to be a 'simple' chakra poisoning on the first glance had turned out to be much worse. A patient with chakra poisoning had about four to ten hours - depending on the extent of the poisoning - until the black markings would reach their heart and kill them. However, with Kakashi, this wasn't the case._

_Panic-stricken, Tsunade had ripped open his shirt only to gasp in shock when she saw the black markings only inches away from the boy's heart. She had immediately started to heal him._

_Minato turned sickly pale when he realized in what danger his student was in and that his Hiraishin would have killed him._

_"Tsunade, what should we do?" asked Jiraiya worriedly._

_Orochimaru still had Sakumo in his arms and stared almost horrified at the black markings. The Senju gritted her teeth as she thought feverishly about a plan._

_"Summon Manda and Gammabunta. I need to continue healing the boy while we travel back to Konoha. If I stop the treatment for even a second he'll die! I'm not even sure if I can stop it in that stage."_

_"Try harder," snarled - surprisingly- Orochimaru._

_It seemed the bond between the boy and the Sannin was stronger than the others had believed it to be._

_"I'm doing my best," snapped Tsunade back._

_"Hey, stop it you two. We have more important matters on our hands!" Jiraiya tried to calm his teammates as best as he could, but it wasn't much._

_"Kuchiyose no jutsu!"_

_With a 'poof' Manda and Gamabunta appeared and the shinobi didn't waste anymore time to get situated. With Tsunade, Kakashi, Minato and Orochimaru on Manda and the Nara, Yamanaka, Akimichi, Mei and Jiraiya on Gamabunta they quickly continued their travel._

_"Arrgh."_

_Suddenly Kakashi started to wriggle around and groan in pain._

_"What is happening?" asked Minato trembling and stared at his student worriedly._

_Tsunade right-out glared at the black markings that continued to grow despite of her healing._

_"I can't stop it."_

_Sweat was running down her face and she pushed every bit of chakra to stop the poison from spreading._

_Orochimaru threw a murderous glare in her direction and hissed: "You have to!"._

_In another situation, Tsunade would have punched her teammate but right now she was busy in trying to save the life of the young boy. But despite her healing chakra Kakashi started to wince and scream again._ _His screams echoed through the forest and disturbed the other shinobi to the core._

_And then there was suddenly silence._

_His screams and cries had passed but no one was relieved about it._

_"Dammit! No, come on," cursed Tsunade and bit her lips. "You stubborn Hatake, breathe, dammit!"_

_"Tsunade!"_

_"What is going on?"_

_"Kakashi?!"_

_Everyone was talking over each other, desperately hoping that it wasn't what it looked like._

_Tsunade cursed long and loud as she tried everything to get the stubborn boy's heart beating again. Her eyes moved to the hated black markings that ended in elegant circles and waves above Kakashi's heart. If it wasn't such a deadly thing you could have described it as a beautiful drawing. In a last desperate attempt she placed her green glowing hands on Kakashi._

_**Pulse: None** _

_"Dammit boy!"_

_**Breathing: None** _

_"Breathe for Kami's sake!"_

_**Heart beat: None** _

_"Don't give up now!"_

_**Possibility of survival: None** _

_"No," the slug princess whispered quietly._

_A hand was put on her shoulders and her eyes met Orochimaru's saddened ones._

_"It's over," he whispered pained and looked lovingly at the boy in her lap._

_Tsunade had never seen her teammate with such saddened eyes._

_"You tried."_

_Her eyes moved from her teammate to Minato who stared horrified at his student's lifeless body. Tsunade didn't want to imagine how the blonde must feel right now. His student just died in front of his eyes!_

_"Minato..."_

_The blonde shook his head, signalling her that he didn't want to talk._

_"You tried," he whispered with a husky voice._

_The shinobi on Gamabunta quietly mourned the death of one of their own. Mei probably took it the hardest from the five shinobis on the toad. She had failed in saving her commander, the person that had saved her life and the lives of her comrades countless of times during the war. And now she would never be able to repay that debt._

_"Let's go home," said Jiraiya sorrowful._

_Silently the team continued their travel._

_T_ _hey weren't far from Konoha, only about five miles away, when Tsunade let out a shocked scream._

_T_ _he Senju had gently cradled the boy in her arms and had softly caressed his hair when suddenly she felt a fragile heartbeat. At first, she believed it to be her imagination but then there was a second one and a third and a fourth. Gasping, she hastily started to heal Kakashi again._

_**~Flashback End~** _

"We still don't know why you suddenly had a heartbeat again. Can you understand now why you won't be able to return to the battlefield so soon?" asked Orochimaru and ended his explanation. 

However, Kakashi had stopped listening and was busy with his own thoughts.

_'So it really wasn't a dream, I really was dead.'_

_**~Flashback~** _

_Kakashi slowly opened his eyes only to see darkness. In a bit of a distance, he could see a small campfire with a bench and three figures on it. The whole situation appeared familiar and reminded him of when he had died in Peins' attack on Konoha._

_Hesitantly he strode over to the campfire and the three familiar figures._

_A pinknette, a blonde and a ravenette._

_Tears threatened to leave his eyes but he somehow was able to hold them back._

_"Sakura? Naruto? Sasuke?" the time traveler asked trembling._

_The three people turned around and smiled happily at him. Now Kakashi couldn't stop the tears from leaving._

_"Hi sensei!" shouted Naruto and grinned brightly, his azure blue eyes sparkling with an intensity that Kakashi hadn't seen since before the war._

_"Stop shouting baka! It's good to see you again Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura smiled at him gently and the time traveler was relieved to see that his student had regained her fire._

_"Hn." Kakashi hadn't realised how much he had missed Sasuke's typical Uchiha smirk._

_"I missed you," admitted Kakashi and let himself rest on the bench next to his student._

_"We missed you too, sensei!" said Naruto and shared a look with Sasuke and Sakura._

_"But you shouldn't be here, Kakashi-sensei," added Sakura and glanced apologetically at the silver-haired man._

_"Hn. Don't you have some unfinished business?" asked Sasuke with a touch of arrogance._

_"But didn't I die?" asked Kakashi curiously. He was sure he died. After he'd used his Mangekyo Sharingan the chakra poisoning should have killed him._

_Naruto looked sheepishly and drawled: "Yeah, about that ..."_

_"We'll send you back, hn."_

_Sakura nudged the Uchiha harshly and scolded: "Stop being so cold. What he means, Kakashi-sensei, is that like Sasuke said we'll send you back to your new life to finish your mission._

_"But..." Kakashi stared wide eyed. "I don't want to. I want to stay here!"_

_Now, all three of his students smiled sadly at him._

_"Too late," whispered Sakura and Kakashi alarmingly watched as he started to disappear._

_"Thank you for protecting our future. We love you sensei!" shouted the three before Kakashi disappeared fully._

_**~Flashback End~** _

"...kashi? Did you understand it now, Kakashi?" Orochimaru looked worriedly at the time traveler. 

"Huh? Yeah sure," answered Kakashi carelessly and stared aimlessly into the distance. Before any of the three could say something there was a knock on the door and Minato, Obito, Rin, and Kushina walked in. 

At seeing Orochimaru and the two genin with Kakashi, Kushina and Rin grimaced and glared angrily. Well, Kushina glared at Orochimaru rather than the children since she held him responsible for what happened to Kakashi whereas Rin glared at Anko and scrunched up her nose in disgust when she saw the purple-haired girl's hand on her Kakashi's arm.

Anko felt the heated glare but she wouldn't let herself get defeated by Rin. Ever since Kakashi had left, the situation between the two girls had worsened and the fact that Anko was the only one to receive letters from the silver-haired boy might have played a crucial part in this.

Minato exchanged a tired look with Orochimaru before his eyes settled on Kakashi. A bright smile graced his face but it didn't quite reach his eyes. The shock of seeing his student die in front of his eyes was still fresh although it had been two weeks since they had returned to Konoha. Even though Kakashi had somehow survived, he had been in a coma for the last two weeks and Tsunade hadn't been sure when he'd wake up again. According to her, Kakashi's chakra coils had started to slowly heal during that time and he'd be able to use chakra again but even after he'd wake up he'd need time before forming chakra again.

He had cried in relief when he had heard those words and had cried a second time when he had gotten the message that his student had finally awoken.

"Hello Kakashi," he said softly and went to hug the silver-haired boy. 

But when his hand was only inches away from the boy, Minato noticed him flinch back even though there was no indication in his face that he was scared. Defeated, he let his hand sink back and instead just smiled gently.

Kakashi just looked emotionlessly at the blonde man. Not even his resemblance to Naruto made him feel something. He was just another person in this cruel world. 

"Sensei."

Minato shuddered when the cold voice reached his ears but before he could say something Kushina hissed quietly so that the genin couldn't hear it: "Can you get out?"

The blonde send an apologetic look to Orochimaru, the person Kushina had snapped at. All of his reasoning hadn't convinced his wife that Orochimaru wasn't responsible for what had happened. 

At another time, Orochimaru would have snapped back, but now he just gritted his teeth and put his hands gently on Anko's and Genma's back.

"Let's give them some time alone," he said to the two genin and led them out of the room.

"We'll see you later Kakashi," he said to the time traveler over the quiet protest of the two children.

When the Snake Sannin looked back over his shoulder he saw the time traveler mouth _'ROOT'_ and he nodded slightly. He'd keep his promise to Kakashi, and Danzo would die in the next couple of days. 

The Snake Sannin kept remembering how he had left Kakashi, not even when the three had long gotten out of the hospital and strolled aimlessly around Konoha could he get the sight out of his mind. 

The boy had looked so ... lonely.

And Orochimaru couldn't stop himself from thinking that maybe it was indeed his fault that the time traveler was now like this. Quiet sniffling ripped him out of his thoughts and he saw his student crying quietly and Genma trying to comfort her. 

After a moment of hesitation, the Snake Sannin pulled the two children in his arms and awkwardly rubbed their backs comfortingly. 

"It's not fair!" sobbed Anko. "Why him?"

And Orochimaru had to silently agree. Why was it always Kakashi? But he already knew the answer to that question.

"Because he is strong. Stronger than most."


	23. Chapter 22

As soon as Orochimaru, Anko and Genma had left the room Kushina had launched herself at Kakashi and engulfed him in a bone-crushing hug.

"Oh I'm so sorry Kakashi! Your father was a great man. I'm so sorry for your loss, you must feel so alone! You poor boy!"

The time traveler surpressed the urge to jump far, far away from the red-haired woman and her smothering.

He knew Kushina meant well, but it felt just so wrong. He didn't want her or anyone else's pity, not when he didn't deserve it. Why didn't they see that it was his fault that Sakumo died? Why couldn't they blame him? It would be so much easier.

Minato noticed the discomfort of his silver-haired student and pulled gently but determined his wife from the boy.

"Let the boy breathe, Kushina."

With Kushina in his arms the blonde was unable to stop his female student from clinging to Kakashi and literally drowning him in affection.

"I missed you so much! And I'm so sorry for your loss! If you ever want to talk about it I'm here for you! I swear I'll always be by your side no matter what happens!" the brunette sobbed and clang to him as if her life depended on it.

Unconsciously, Rin's clinging behaviour had reminded Kakashi of the many assassination attempts on him and his body stiffened in response.

"I'm fine. Let go, Rin," Kakashi hissed through gritted teeth.

The touch was uncomfortable on his body and he wanted to get away from it.

Since he had awoken every physical contact had caused shivers and the desire to get away. All but one but he tried not to think about it too much.

Reluctantly, Rin let go of her teammate. She grimaced and a dark look crossed her face when she remembered how the crazy purple-haired girl had her hand on Kakashi's arm and he hadn't said something to her.

"Don't worry Kakashi-kun," she said sweetly. "I know it's just the shock but I promise I'll look after you. I'll make sure that you get the rest you deserve and I'll even talk to Hokage-sama to make sure you won't have to return to the war...."

Her soft voice and pitying look made Kakashi feel like throwing up. Why did everyone think they had to pamper him?

"Rin," Obito, who had watched the whole ordeal silently, hesitantly pulled his brunette teammate away.

It hurt him to see his crush gushing after the silver haired boy.

Furthermore it irritated him that he couldn't even be angry with Kakashi because it wasn't his fault in the first place.

"What do you want, Obito?" Rin asked, annoyed.

Recoiling from the underlying venom in her voice the Uchiha let quickly go of her hand.

"Sorry," he murmured.

Minato had watched the whole exchange disapprovingly and decided to intervene now.

"That's enough you two. We're here for Kakashi, you can take any disagreement out later."

The two genin looked down ashamed, well at least Obito did. Rin instead threw a last nasty look at her ravenette teammate before turning her attention back to Kakashi.

An awkward atmosphere started when the two kunoichi continued to gush over the time traveler whilst the shinobi didn't know how to act around the time traveler.

Furthermore Kakashi didn't show any sign of emotions during the whole ordeal. It was as if he couldn't care less about the two females gushing and worrying about him, and at least Obito believed it to be the truth.

"... You know, you should come live with us now that you have no relatives in Konoha," exclaimed Kushina suddenly, totally convinced about her brilliant idea.

Opposite to the red-haired 's gigantic smile, Kakashi felt sick when he heard that idea and his response was immediate.

"No," he shot out nonchalantly and his empty eyes stared at the others.

"But why, Kakashi-kun?" asked Rin pouting. "It is so generous of Kushina-san to give you this opportunity. And you really shouldn't be without adult supervision right now."

The time traveler gritted his teeth and his breath hitched.

"I said no."

"Sweetie," Kushina started sweetly, "I know it is hard..."

A knock at the door stopped the Uzumaki from continuing. Without waiting for permission, Hiruzen and Danzo walked in, the later throwing a dark glare at the silver-haired boy.

The Hatake had killed twenty of his best shinobi and was still alive!

"Minato, Kushina, Obito, Rin it's nice to see you looking after your friend," said Hiruzen smiling. "And of course you, Kakashi. I'm so happy to see you back on your feet and I'm terrible sorry for your loss. Sakumo was a great shinobi and Konoha feels with you."

The Hokage put his hand comforting on Kakashi shoulder, blind to the way Kakashi's eyes darkened.

Ever since the two men had stepped into the room, Kakashi's eyes hadn't left the councilman and he literally bit his tongue to prevent himself from lashing out.

_'Don't do it. You can't kill him now. You have witnesses. Orochimaru said he'd help you. Don't...'_

"Sakumo was a great man but an even greater father, isn't that right Hatake-san?"

Danzo's seemingly innocent question was the last straw and any reasonable thought left Kakashi's mind.

_'Murderer, murderer, murderer,...'_

No one in the room noticed the murderous thoughts running through the boy's mind so when Hiruzen, like the dutyful Hokage he was, asked the others to leave the room so he could get a report from the boy himself, they all left without care. Not even Rin, who had been glued to Kakashi tried to stay.

"I know it's early and difficult to talk about what happened but we need to know who was responsible for Sakumo's death," Hiruzen stated matter of factly.

Kakashi thought it had to be some sort of sick joke that Hiruzen asked him about the murderer when the person was in the same room.

"..."

"I told you Hiruzen, it would be better to ask him after he had his mental evaluation. We can't be sure that whatever he says is the truth considering that the child must be traumatized."

Danzo inwardly smirked. If he could convince his old teammate to listen to him, no matter what the young Hatake knew or said, it would be futile. He'd be able to influence the mental evaluation and diagnose the child as mentally unstable and illusionary. And then he could easily stage his death as suicide and nobody would think that ROOT had any part in it.

 _'Hahaha. Traumatized? Hahaha,'_ Kakashi inwardly laughed hysterically. _'Traumatized is not a word I'd use to describe me. How can I be traumatized when there's nothing left in me? When I'm nothing but an empty shell?'_

The Hokage looked worriedly at the young silver-haired child. He pitied the child and gruesome guilt had plagued his mind ever since he had been taken captive.

He had wondered day and night if he had made the right choice when he had allowed the boy to leave the protective walls of Konoha. But then he had remembered the number of people that this small child had saved and he was once again sure of his choice.

It was only now that he saw what he had forced a child to go through. It was heartless and ruthless to say, but the majority if not all of the child soldiers died during the war and Hiruzen hadn't had seen what the war had done to the children. Therefore he had been able to push the thought of their pain far, far away in the darkest corner of his mind.

But now that the consequences of his choices stared with dead eyes and tired face directly at him and into his soul this was no longer possible.

"I'm sorry."

That was the only thing Hiruzen could say but he also knew that it wouldn't change anything. It wouldn't revive Sakumo and it wouldn't free Kakashi from the dark things he had to witness, but it was the truth.

Knowing of the momentary weakness of his old teammate, Danzo put his hand on his shoulder and pushed Hiruzen lightly towards the door.

"Let's get him help first and then we'll figure out what happened."

A quiet hateful voice whispered in Kakashi's mind: _'Your prey is escaping. Stop him now. '_

And everything Orochimaru had told him before was forgotten.

Grabbing one of the many flower vases, this one had red gladiolus meaning strength and remembrance, he threw it harshly at the door through which Danzo was trying to leave.

With a loud **_crash_** the vase shattered into million of pieces, and through the shower of shards Kakashi strowled toward the council man with a murderous glare.

The two adults hadn't even seen him throw the vase and Hiruzen was shocked whereas Danzo was furious.

The child had dared to cross his plans again!

Picking up a sharp shard, Kakashi held his makeshift weapon like a katana and aimed at Danzo.

"You're not gonna leave!" he snarled and in the blink of an eye he was in front of Danzo slashing at his throat.

It was only due to his instincts that Danzo was able to dodge the attack and jump back.

"Kakashi! Stop!" shouted Hiruzen and tried to catch the boy.

But even without chakra, Kakashi escaped Hiruzen arms and continued to attack Danzo.

Slashing from the right, kicking from the left, jumping back to escape Hiruzen, he continued to push him into a corner.

"What's gotten into you? I order you to stop!"

Hiruzen was frozen in fear.

What had he done?

He had created a _monste_ r!

Danzo couldn't believe that the time traveler actually played right into his hands. He had the chance to kill Kakashi right here and now and would be able to claim self defence!

When he had let himself get cornered he had made sure that Hiruzen wouldn't be able to see what he did. Swiftly, Danzo pulled out a kunai and stabbed at Kakashi abdomen.

A well placed stab in the kidneys should do the deed.

The silver-haired boy let himself fall back in an attempt to escape the fatal hit but suddenly an exaggerating pain shot up his spine and he froze, giving Danzo the chance to scrap his torso.

Suddenly Mikoto stormed inside and first of all screamed like the devil was after her.

The Uchiha matriarch had wanted to visit Kakashi when she had heard loud noises from his hospital room. She'd ran in the room and when she saw the three men, or to be more precise the two men and her precious silver-haired boy, she had let out an earshattering scream to stop Councilman Danzo from continuing his attack.

Fully using the momentary shock of the three, she jumped in between Kakashi and Danzo and pulled the disturbed boy in her arms.

"Get away from him!" she hissed at Danzo and glared murderously at him.

Meanwhile, Kakashi was in some kind of shock state and stood frozen in place. He had tensed when the ravenette had flung her arms around him but different to when Kushina had hugged him earlier, he didn't feel like he'd suffocate in pity. No, instead he felt relatively safe. He didn't feel like he'd have to pretend to be fine when he was not, he didn't feel like something fragile. Just... accepted.

Danzo glared at the woman and snarled: "We have to restrain him! He just suddenly attacked me. He is unstable!"

Why was it that somehow all of his plans were interrupted or prevented when it came to the silver-haired boy?

Mikoto instinctively pushed the child behind her in a protective manner.

"Don't you dare touch him! Restraining him would only remember him of his time with Hanzo."

Danzo looked at Hiruzen for help, but the Hokage was conflicted. On the one hand he understood why Danzo suggested it, but on the other hand he also understood Mikoto's point of view.

Looking at the silver-haired child, whose eyes were no longer empty orbs but mirrored confusion and eventually a very small glimmer of what once had been his Will of Fire, he made his choice.

"Get him to calm down and then we'll talk," Hiruzen told the kunoichi, ignoring the angry expression of his teammate.

Mikoto didn't even thank him or something and turned immediately towards Kakashi.

"It's gonna be okay. Maybe not right now but some day and until then I'll protect you. I swear that I'll help you to get justice but now you have to rest," said Mikoto and caressed Kakashi's silver hair gently.

To the surprise of the two men, Kakashi calmed down and relaxed slightly.

"I'm okay," the boy whispered as if he believed so himself and Mikoto's heart broke again to see the child so destroyed.

In response she only pulled him closer but still aware of keeping a bit of distance between them as to not make him uncomfortable and whispered: "I know you're not. But you will be."

"Mikoto-san," Hiruzen called the Uchiha. "Can you ask him to tell us what happened?"

Hiruzen had had hoped that, now with the kunoichi here, Kakashi would tell him what he knew but he hadn't expected the deadly glare said kunoichi would throw at him.

"I want you to leave this room this instant," Mikoto said calmly but her gaze told the men that she was barely keeping it together.

Still, Hiruzen asked incredulously: "Excuse me? I believe you forgot who you're talking to, Mikoto-San."

"I haven't forgotten who you are, Hokage-sama. However, Kakashi is part of the Uchiha Clan as of now and therefore his capture is primarily clan business, so you'll have to wait with your questioning until the Clan head gives the okay. And during all of your questions, a member of the Uchiha clan will be present. So I'm asking you again politely to leave."

Hiruzen was speechless. He had only wanted to get answers and now he had some sort of clan business on his hand. Oh, the paperwork that this was going to cause!

Meanwhile, Danzo didn't know how to hide all of his fury. Why could never go anything to plan!?

And Kakashi honestly didn't know how to feel. It was ironic that Mikoto said he was part of the Uchiha Clan when he not only possessed the sharingan, but also Fugaku had once told him he'd never be a part of the clan. He kinda felt like crying and wondered why he no longer felt numb. He missed the numbness that had stopped him from hurting.

"What do you mean, he's part of the Uchiha Clan?" asked Danzo through gritted teeth.

Mikoto smirked victoriously at the Councilman and responded: "Sakumo wrote a will in which he made me Kakashi's godmother and therefore his legal guardian if anything should happen to him. Hence, Kakashi is now my child and part of the Uchiha clan, so get out now!"

A will written by a shinobi was something holy and could under no circumstances be broken. So Hiruzen and Danzo really were powerless and had to leave the room.

Danzo left brooding and furiously whereas Hiruzen left feeling tired and defeated. It was going to be so much paperwork!

When Mikoto and Kakashi were alone the time traveler finally looked up to the gorgeous woman and asked hoarsely: "Did you mean it?"

"What do you mean?" Mikoto asked softly and continued to caress his hair.

"That I'm your child?"

"Hmm," she smiled gently. "Yes, I meant it. You are my son and I love you as such. Itachi really misses his big brother, you know."

They continued to stay in silence with Mikoto caressing Kakashi's hair and Kakashi relaxing into her touch.

Suddenly, Kakashi broke the silence.

"It hurts knowing you tried doing your best and it still wasn't good enough."

He didn't know why he said it and he didn't expect Mikoto to answer it. It just felt good to let it out for once.

And Mikoto knew that so she just stayed silent.

Some time later, she gently nudged the boy and told him:" Go to sleep, Kakashi. I'll stay with you."

Without much protest, Kakashi crabbled into the hospital bed and closed his eyes, exhausted. Mikoto sat next to the bed and held the time traveler's hand.

Quietly she began to sing her lullaby. It always caused Itachi to sleep without nightmares and Kami knows Kakashi could needs some good rest.

"Rock a bye baby on the tree top

When the wind blows the cradle will rock

When the bought breaks the cradle will fall

And down will come baby, cradle and all.

Hush little boy asleep in your bed

You will see fairies dancing in your head

There you will snuggle, you're safe and you're warm

Till the sun rises up and you'll wake with the dawn.

Night, night little boy it's time for your sleep

Hush now no crying, not even a peep,

You're a tired little man so good and so sweet

We're so lucky you've made us complete."

Mikoto watched tiredly as Kakashi slept calmly. Putting her head in her hand she sighed. It physically hurt her to see Kakashi like this.

"Sometimes the mind can be a terrifying place," she said into the room and thought about the way Kakashi had had been trembling and how he had sometimes looked at his hands with so much disgust and panic. And the worst, Kakashi hadn't even realized he had done it.   
  
  
  
  
  



	24. Chapter 23

Three days later, Kakashi was allowed to officially leave the hospital and he was incredibly glad about it. Being in that white room 24/7 had been driving him crazy and had only worsened his condition. When Tsunade realised that, and it was only after Orochimaru and Mikoto had talked to her, she reluctantly let him leave.

Currently, he sat in his new bedroom in the Uchiha Clan Head house and waited for everyone to be asleep. This morning, Mikoto had brought him here and officially declared him a part of the Uchiha Clan. Little Itachi had been ecstatic when Mikoto had told him that he'd be his big brother for real now and the first time Itachi had visited him in the hospital - a day after he'd woken up - the young child had cried and not let go of Kakashi for hours.

_**~Flashback~** _

_Kakashi had been awake for a couple of hours when Mikoto returned with Itachi in tow. The Uchiha Matriarch had spent the entire night next to Kakashi's hospital bed, holding his hand and singing to him softly. It was one of the rare nights where the time traveler hadn't been plagued by nightmares._ _In the morning she had to leave, but promised to return with Itachi later on._

_Whilst she was gone, Kushina and Rin had come back to drown him in pity and affection. Fortunately, they had to leave soon and Kakashi was alone again, until now, when Mikoto and Itachi came in._

_"Kashi-nii?" whispered Itachi wobbly and let go of is mother's hand. His dark eyes were widened and brimmed with tears. The child didn't hesitate to run towards his big brother, cradle into his hospital bed and wrap his small hands around the time traveler's body._

_Mikoto was ready to pull her youngest away from the silver-haired boy, remembering how he disliked physical contact, but Kakashi only wrapped his hands -although trembling- around Itachi too and caressed his raven hair._

_"Hello otouto. How are you? Have you been a good boy for Mikoto?"_

_Quiet whimper and sobs rocked Itachi's small body. and there was a numb feeling of pain in Kakashi's chest. It fed his insanity too and crumbled on the small bits of himself that Mikoto and Anko had been able to put together again to see the child so upset. Why did he always hurt the people closest to him? Was he really such a monster?_

_"I've been good j-just like you told me to," whimpered Itachi. "Please, please, please don't leave me alone again! I swear I'll be good. I'll help Kaa-chan with the washes, I'll always tidy up my room, I'll train really really hard, just please don't leave me, Nii-san!"_

_Kakashi felt a burning sensation in his eyes as if tears wanted to fall but he was unable to cry. How could he hurt an innocent child so much? And he couldn't even promise him to stay because he already knew he'd be leaving soon._

_"I-I'm sorry otouto," whispered Kakashi sorrowfully. "I'll try to stay, but you don't have to do anything for it, okay?"_

_"Hmm. Kaa-chan said you'll move in with us and be my big brother, is that true?" asked Itachi and snuggled closer to Kakashi._

_A small sad smile grazed the time travel_ _er's face and he replied: "Yes. Your Kaa-chan is very kind and took me in a-after.... Anyway, I'm already your big brother and you can always count on me."_

_Itachi's tears slowly stopped and a happy smile adored his small face._

_"I love you,Nii-san."_

_Kakashi gasped quietly, the last person to tell him this was his father, and look how he ended!_

_"L-love you too, otouto."_

_"I hate war," whispered Itachi suddenly and looked up to Kakashi. "I don't want to hurt people."_

_"You won't have to," answered Kakashi determined and tightened his grip around the small boy. "I'll make sure of it."_

_He remembered how Itachi had been known as a pacifist by the people he had been close to, but had been forced to live the life of a monster._

_Itachi vehemently shook his head and said with teary eyes: "But I want to protect you and Kaa-chan! And Otou-sama says I must be an exceptional shinobi to make the Uchiha clan proud!"_

_The time traveler's face darkened, Fugaku could become a serious problem in the near future. Not for the shinobi world in itself but for the well being of his otouto, and that was something he'd protect to the end._

_"I knew a shinobi once who was very kind but powerful. He fought the toughest battle, he even fought a goddess once but through all the fights he never killed a single soul. He cried for his enemies and for the pain they had experienced. He changed and protected so many people just by being kind and believing in himself and his dreams. I believe in you Itachi. I believe that you can be what ever you want to be and as long as you're happy I will always be proud of you."_

_Itachi had listened with wide eyes and gaping mouth to his nii-san and the story he had told him. It meant the world to him to hear that his nii-san was proud of and believed in him. That was all he wanted. To make his nii-san proud._

_Mikoto had watched the whole exchange with tears in her eyes. She just loved her two sons so much and would do anything to make sure they were happy._

_**~Flashback End~** _

Kakashi had been so caught up in his thoughts that when he looked up again, it was already midnight and everyone around him was asleep. Silently he climbed out of his window, glad for his returned chakra although his control was still a bit rough and not as fine as before, but it made breaking out of the Uchiha clan compound so much easier.

When he reached the ground he looked back at the clan head house once, checking one more time that nobody had awakened, before running away without making a sound. His chakra control wasn't good enough for many shunshinns and he'd need to do two later on. 

A bit later he met Orochimaru near Danzo's house.

The Snake Sannin was leaning against a tree, his arms crossed and his eyes starring into the night sky admiring the stars. Suddenly the time traveler felt a twinge of guilt and pity, not that he outwardly showed it. It was his fault that Orochimaru had now to take part in the assassination of Danzo, the teammate of his sensei. The Sannin would have to lie to his sensei when said man would mourn the death of his old friend, he'd have to play the sorrowful student and deceive the man that had made a big impact on his life. The time traveler blamed himself that Orochimaru couldn't get a peaceful life even when he was here to prevent the disastrous future. The Snake Sannin had made many mistakes in the timeline Kakashi came from, but didn't he too deserve a second chance? But now the time traveler had forced him to work in the darkness again.

"Did you bring everything?" asked Orochimaru and his snake-like eyes settled on the time traveler.

Kakashi nodded stoic and muttered: "Yes, a seal that will give him a heart attack so it will look like he died of natural cause."

It was the method they had decided to use and whilst Kakashi had agreed on it, Orochimaru thought that if his friend wasn't as broken as he was, he'd want a more satisfying method. He knew he would have.

Nodding sharply he held out his hand for Kakashi to take. They had planned that Kakashi would shunshin them both together directly into Danzo's office whilst Orochimaru would hide their chakra presence to hopefully dodge all guards Danzo would have. The man should have stocked up his security measures considering that his assassination attempt on Kakashi had failed. 

Although his hand was trembling, in fear of the physical contact, Kakashi reached out for Orochimaru's hand.

"Let's go."

Two seconds later the two shinobi stood inside an alcove close to Danzo's office. Orochimaru had drawn his sword already, he didn't want to be without a weapon in this rat nest, and Kakashi had automatically reached for his father's tanto that had accompanied him for the last couple of years. Only wen he reached into emptiness did he remember that his precious weapon was still in the hands of Hanzo. His eyebrow twitched momentarily but he didn't say anything and just silently reached for a simple kunai and the seal instead.

Cautiously they checked out their surroundings. Fortunately for them, there was nothing and they were able to carry on unnoticed. Kakashi signed Orochimaru to quietly open Danzo's office door from where he could sense his chakra presence.

The time traveler was deadly calm when Orochimaru followed his orders and the two slipped into the dark office. Only a candle lighted up the room around Danzo's large wooden desk and cast dark shadows. The doomed man sat tiredly at his desk, his head put into his hands and important documents in front of him. 

And then everything went over in seconds.

Danzo looked up and Kakashi pushed forwards. He was behind the man in the blink of an eye, slapping the paper seal on Danzo's back and standing next to Orochimaru again before Danzo could move.

But then the Councilman stood up, staring furiously at the two intruding shinobi, and hissed: "Do you really think two of you are enough to defeat me?!"

Kakashi interrupted the arrogant man coldly and said with a sharp voice: "Danzo Shimura, due to your crimes in the past and in the future you are hereby sentenced to death by the virtue of the Rokudaime Hokage."

For a moment Danzo was taken a back before he threw his head back and laughed out loudly. 

"Hahaha! Rokudaime Hokage? You must have lost your mind for real, Hatake!"

Suddenly, his laughter stopped and he grasped hastily at his chest. Panic-stricken his gaze stopped at the small figure of the young boy and his cold dark eyes. And Danzo finally realised that he had awaken a sleeping beast. 

"Monster," he hissed with his last powers before his heart stopped beating and the life left his eyes.

It was in no way a glorious death and it was surely not the death Danzo had imagined - not that he had believed that someone could kill him - but it was enough. Danzo Shimura was finally and really dead and he would never be able to steal the sharingan.

Kakashi watched, satisfied, as the small paper seal burned itself and the ashes disappeared.

Emotionless, he turned to the Snake Sannin and dully said: "Let's go back before somebody comes."

Taking the Sannin's hand, this time more composed, he shunshinned them away and near to the Uchiha Clan compound. 

Only when they were far away from Danzo's house did Orochimaru realize that he had held his breath and he hurriedly gasped for air. His gaze met the time traveler's eyes and noticed that the constant tiredness that had been displayed in the cold eyes had lifted slightly. It made what they had just done much easier.

"Thank you," Kakashi said suddenly, still not letting much emotion into his voice.

But the Sannin understood and replied: "You're welcome."

"I should go back before somebody realizes I'm gone. Mikoto would turn the whole of Konoha upside down."

Orochimaru chuckled, he could just imagine Mikoto doing exactly that.

"Okay, then I won't stop you any longer. I'll see you tomorrow Kakashi."

"Hmm."

Kakashi had already turned around when Orochimaru remembered something vital. 

"Kakashi!" he exclaimed and the time traveler quickly turned back and cautiously looked at the Sannin. 

"Hiruzen-sensei wants to hold a vote in the next clan head meeting to decide whether or not you'll be allowed back into active duty even if you pass the mental evaluation exam," explained Orochimaru quickly.

Other than a quick twitch of his hand, nothing showed that Kakashi understood the seriousness of the situation.

"I will be back in active duty soon. The Kannabi Bridge Mission is close and I won't let Obito or Rin anywhere close to that part of the country."

Kakashi left no doubt that his words were nothing but the truth and Orochimaru wasn't sure whether he liked it or not.

"The vote is tomorrow," he commented worriedly. "Can you still do it?"

"It will be fine."

With that, Kakashi turned away for good and went back into the Uchiha compound. 

When the sun rose up the next morning, Kakashi left his room and went downstairs. He hadn't slept for a second - the nightmares had kept him awake as well as the upcoming vote. The time traveler knew that it didn't look good for him, to say it nicely. 

There were twelve clans in Konoha in total:

The Sarutobi Clan with Hiruzen as Clan head.

The Uchiha Clan with Fugaku as Clan head.

The Inuzuka Clan with Tsume as Clan head.

The Hyuuga Clan with Hiashi as Clan head.

The Aburame Clan with Shibi as Clan head.

The Nara Clan with Shikaku as Clan head.

The Akimichi Clan with Chouza as Clan head.

The Yamanaka Clan with Inoichi as Clan head.

The Senju Clan with Tsunade as Clan head. 

The Uzumaki Clan with Kushina as Clan head.

The Shimura Clan with previously Danzo as the Clan head.

And the Hatake Clan with himself as Clan head. 

Considering that the Shimura clan was now extinct in Konoha, he needed at least six votes to win. However, due to the fact that it was Hiruzen who called this meeting, Kakashi knew that he wouldn't get the vote of the Sarutobi Clan. Kushina would never let him leave, just like Inoichi. The man had voiced his disdain of Kakashi's position more than once over the years because he worried for his mental well being. That were already three votes against him and there was a high probability that Chouza and Shikaku would side with Inoichi so that would make it five votes. The Inuzukas were known for being very protective of their pups so Tsume would most likely also vote against him, making it six votes and therefore the majority. And if he let Mikoto know about it he'd lose the support of the Uchiha clan for sure. 

Grimacing, the time traveler realized that he'd have to talk to a couple of clan heads really soon. He needed the Uchiha clan on his side and if he could, the Nara clan as well. The jounin just prayed that Tsunade would have his back.

"Damn," he muttered angrily. 

Orochimaru was right to worry, he had indeed more people against letting him leave again. That would have been nice if it didn't hinder his mission.

"Hatake-san."

Looking up, Kakashi saw the stoic Uchiha Clan head waiting in front of him .

_'Just the man I needed.'_

"Uchiha-san, good morning," he greeted the man politely and peered delightfully at the fleeting annoyed expressions that crossed the clan head's face.

Fugaku cleared his voice and looked around awkwardly before he crossed his arms and said: "I know my wife allowed you to stay here...."

"If you want me gone I can leave immediately. Mikoto was very kind and I'm grateful for the time I could stay," interrupted Kakashi the Uchiha, hiding the feeling of hurt behind an aloof tone.

"No, that's not what I meant. Mikoto is a very patient woman but when it comes to Itachi or you, she becomes a beast and I do care about my life."

"Oh."

"What I meant is that even though my wife made you a part of my clan I don't feel like I payed of my debt to you. I am not delusional and I know that without your sacrifice I as many of my clan members might have not returned home after the battle with Hanzo the Salamander. And I don't like to be indebted to anyone, so tell me what I can do for you."

For a moment Kakashi was speechless but then he remembered that the Uchiha had always been proud men and it made sense that he felt indebted. A small smirk grazed his face, this opportunity couldn't have come at a better time!

"I think you already know about the upcoming vote, correct?" asked Kakashi thoughtfully.

"Yes. The vote whether or not you'll be allowed to return to active duty?" replied Fugaku warily.

"Exactly. I want you to vote for my return."

Fugaku did well to hide his surprise but Kakashi could still feel his worried chakra. 

"I see... Are you sure about your choice?" 

The Uchiha had thought the boy wouldn't want to return to the front lines but apparently he had been wrong. 

"Yes," the time traveler watched carefully the clan head's expression for any sign of disagreement. 

"You want me to go against my wife's wishes," said Fugaku in a deadpanned voice.

"Yes."

"I will do what you asked me for, but you will have to tell Mikoto yourself," stated Fugaku resolutely.

"Good."

An awkward silent arose between the two shinobi before Fugaku nodded once and walked away. Sighing, Kakashi rubbed his temple, he could feel a headache coming on.

Later on that day he was summoned to the Hokage's office where he was directed into another room. 

"Kakashi, how are you?" asked Hiruzen friendly and motioned for the boy to come in further.

Around a large wooden table stood twelve chairs with the respective clan symbols etched on. Only two of them were empty - the Shimura clan and the Hatake clan.

"Hokage-sama, I'm fine. Please proceed with why I am actually here," replied Kakashi with a laid back voice. 

Even though he already knew what was going on, Hiruzen wasn't aware of the fact that he knew.

"Of course. The clan heads will hold a vote to decide whether or not we will allow you to return to active duty in case you pass your mental evaluation exam," explained Hiruzen the situation seriously.

"Okay."

The Hokage as many Clan heads were taken a back for a second. Hiruzen had thought Kakashi would resist more, but apparently even the stubborn boy understood that he needed a break. Sadly, he didn't know that Kakashi had a very different plan that didn't include to sit back and to relax.

"If nobody has anything to object we will proceed."

"Don't worry Kakashi-kun. We'll easily win this vote, dattebane!" cooed Kushina and smiled brightly. 

Ignoring Kushina's comment, Kakashi continued to walk towards the Hatake clan head's chair - his father's - and proceeded to sit down. He was fully aware of the many watchful and curious eyes that judged him as he shakily put his trembling hands on the armrests.

"Kakashi?" asked Hiruzen curiously.

He hoped for Kami's sake that the boy didn't plan on doing what he guessed. 

With cold eyes, the time traveler looked at each of the Clan heads and replied: "I'll take over the position as Clan head of the Hatake clan as of now."

"Kakashi-kun, no! You are way too young!" shouted Kushina and jumped up.

"Hokage-sama, Hatake-san is not ready," exclaimed Inoichi and looked at Hiruzen worriedly.

"I'll have to agree with Inoichi," said Tsunade, aware that she had just kind of betrayed Kakashi. 

The fleeting hurt expression that had crossed the boy's face proved it to her.

The other Clan heads kept quiet, knowing that the protest was useless. Kakashi had every right to claim the title, now that he was the last Hatake and not even Hiruzen would be able to prevent it. 

"Silent," exclaimed Hiruzen. "It appears as if the Hatake clan has a new Clan head as of today."

"But!"

"Quiet, Uzumaki-san. Let's proceed with the vote now that everyone is here," interrupted Fugaku the loud woman, ignoring the glowering glares that Kushina threw at him.

"Fugaku is right," said Hiruzen and took a drag of his pipe. "Everyone in favour of Kakashi returning to active duty lift your hand."

Unsurprisingly, Kakashi's hand was the first one that shot up. Fugaku followed swiftly, pushing the thought of his furious wife far away. The next one were Hiashi and Shibi, both didn't understand why an able shinobi should stay in the village when a war was going on.

 _'That are four votes, I need six!'_ thought Kakashi agitatedly and caught the prying gaze of Shikaku. _'Come on Shikaku. You know it's for the best.'_

As if Shikaku had read Kakashi's mind, he slowly and with an unreadable expression lifted his hand.

"Shikaku!" exclaimed Inoichi appalled. "I know the mind better than anyone and I'm telling you he isn't ready."

"That is what you believe," replied Shikaku calmly. "But Konoha needs him. We need the Silver Reaper back in the field, if only to lift the spirits of our shinobi."

"I must agree with Shikaku. Many of my clan members have asked after the Silver Reaper and owe their lives to Kakashi. I'm sorry Inoichi," added Chouza and lifted his hand. 

"Six out of eleven votes in favour of Kakashi's return. That is the majority, so I guess there is nothing stopping you from returning if you pass your exam, Kakashi," stated Hiruzen and took another long drag from his pipe. 

"Hokage-sama, you can't ..."

"Kushina, it's enough. It was a fair vote."

"But..."

"Hokage-sama," interrupted Kakashi Kushina rudely. "I want to take the mental evaluation exam now. I wish to return to my platoon as soon as possible."

"Are you sure?" asked Hiruzen and rubbed his temples.

"Yes."

Defeated, he motioned Inoichi to come closer.

"Inoichi, Kakashi wants to do the evaluation now. Please, go and do your job."

"Hokage-sama, with all due respect..."

"I can't stop him Inoichi. Please just do what you have to do," sighed Hiruzen tiredly.

Somehow, everything that included Kakashi became ten times more difficult.

"As you wish," Inoichi bowed and quickly left the room with Kakashi in tow.

Not long after, Kushina stormed out as well, looking for Minato to tell him about the vote. Slowly everyone else left too. The last one to leave were Fugaku and Tsunade. Fugaku because he tried to stretch the time before he had to inform his wife as much as possible and Tsunade because she didn't know how to tell Orochimaru and Jiraiya that she had failed.

Jiraiya had been against it from the start and although Orochimaru had refrained from choosing a side, yesterday night he had come to her and practically begged her to vote against Kakashi's return. The Snake Sannin didn't want Kakashi out of duty for good but he wanted more time to recover for the Jounin. Sorrowfully, she left the room to search for her teammates.

A couple of hours later, Inoichi and Kakashi returned to the office and Inoichi told Hiruzen hesitantly: "He's good to go."

Not waiting for the Hokage to say anything, the Yamanaka clan head left the office. 

Taking a long drag from his pipe, Hiruzen sighed and attempted to smile. He failed horribly.

"So I guess you want a mission soon. Do you have one in mind?"

If he couldn't stop the Jounin from leaving, he could at least give him an easy mission.

Straightening his posture, Kakashi replied without hesitation: "I want the Kannabi Bridge Mission."

Hiruzen wasn't surprised that the Jounin knew about the mission but rather that he wanted a mission that was meant for a genin team, but he didn't mind. 

"You do know that you would have to leave today, right?"

That was the only thing Hiruzen had to criticize on Kakashi's choice. 

"Of course," was his immediate answer and Hiruzen wondered why he had even asked.

Unknowingly to Hiruzen, Kakashi's heart had started to hurt when he thought about leaving Anko and Itachi again. He hadn't seen the purple-haired girl much since he was awake because Rin and Kushina had always been around him. He missed her...terribly so...

"Are you sure?" asked Hiruzen once more.

_'Obito, Rin, Minato-sensei...'_

"Yes, I am sure."

"So be it," sighed Hiruzen and pulled out a mission scroll and handed it to Kakashi. "You and your platoon need to be on your way at the latest tomorrow morning."

"Hai, Hokage-sama."

Kakashi quickly took the scroll and left the office.

Outside, he met his second-in-command Mei Inuzuka with her loyal nin-dog. The brunette smiled happily when she saw the silver-haired boy again.

"Commander, it's good to see you back on your feet," she greeted him cheerfully. 

In the years they had spent on the battlefield together she had come to know Kakashi better and knew that refraining from speaking about his father was best. 

"Yes, it's good to see you too, Mei," replied Kakashi whilst he stuffed his slightly trembling hands into his pockets. "Can you tell the platoon that we'll leave in two hours top?"

Surprised, Mei blinked and asked: "We have a mission?"

"Yes. Can you do it?"

Kakashi didn't want to come over as rude but he wanted to leave Konoha before Mikoto or Itachi or worse, Anko, heard of the news. He didn't know how to tell them.

Mei noticed that her Commander appeared to be tense and quickly nodded. 

"Of course, Commander."

She quickly left to find the rest of the platoon and Kakashi was alone again.

The time traveler shunshinned to his house to pack his backpack. Even though it was painful to stay in this house without his father he didn't want to return to the Uchiha clan compound and he had everything he needed already in here.

Two hours later, Kakashi left his home again and took the shortest way to the large gates of Konoha. He had almost reached his destination when he heard a familiar voice call his name.

"Kakashi-kun!"

_'Anko...'_

Slowly he turned around to look at the petite girl. 

"Is it true?" she asked even though deep inside she knew the answer.

And then she did the simplest thing in the world. She leaned over and kissed him. And the world cracked open.

When Anko's soft lips touched Kakashi's a firework exploded inside him and everything seemed almost too brightly coloured. He reached out and pulled her closer to him, one hand on her waist and the other behind her neck.

At first he kissed her like he was afraid she'd break, but then he kissed her like it was the last thing he'd ever do.

Gasping for air they pulled apart , starring into each others eyes longingly and then the magic broke.

A terrified expression crossed Kakashi's face and he let go of her as if he had burned himself.

"A-Anko..." he stuttered and for the first time he didn't know what to do. 

With teary eyes the purple-haired girl caressed his cheek, whispering wobbly: "Shhh. I know."

The time traveler stumbled back and away from Anko's touch, the hurt look in Anko's eyes cutting deep into his fragile heart. 

"I need to go. I'm sorry."

Before Anko knew what happened, Kakashi had hit the knock out point at the back of her neck and caught her gently in his arms. Looking around, he found a bench beneath a street lamp close to where he was and decided to lay Anko there. After he had put her down he couldn't just leave her there, his heart was tearing him apart, but he also couldn't stay. Taking of his flack jacket, he softly tucked her in and gently caressed her cheek. Giving her a last kiss on the cheek he stood up again and left.

At the other end of Konoha, Minato walked hastily into a bar and scrunched up his nose when the strong alcoholic smell hit him. Nethertheless he looked around trying to find the Snake Sannin. And finally in the furthest and darkest corner he could make out Orochimaru's silhouette. 

The blonde quickly walked over to him, ignoring the half empty bottle of sake around the Sannin and sitting down opposite to him. Orochimaru didn't even look at him and kept his eyes fixated on his glass. Carelessly, he swirled the glass lightly in his hand and stared into the nothingness. He was so done with the world. Kakashi had won the vote and, according to Tsunade, he had left the room with Inoichi to do his mental evaluation. Knowing the time traveler he had passed no problem and had probably already a new mission.

"Orochimaru," Minato said urgently. "We have a problem."

Finally, the blonde had the attention of the Snake Sannin but different to his expectations, did his eyes soon drop back to the glass.

"Gimme a sec, I'm not drunk enough to listen to this yet," replied the Sannin and took a deep sip from his glass.

Minato glared angrily at the Sannin and pushed his glass back down.

"Dammit, we don't have the time for this. Kakashi left Konoha!"

Momentarily Orochimaru stared wide eyed at the blonde before he looked back down defeated and whispered sorrowfully: "Knew it. Knew he wouldn't stay in here. S'Not how he handles things."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you guys think about the chapter. And thank you for your comments in the last chapters!
> 
> Stella x


	25. Chapter 24

For the first time he could remember, Kakashi fled Konoha. His driving force wasn't his mission like usual, but the weird feelings which fluttered around in his chest, and he absolutely hated them.

He hated the warm, fuzzy feeling that came up whenever his mind wandered to the sweet purple-haired girl, he hated feeling like his heart tore apart with each step that took him further away from Konoha, and he hated himself for the desperate thoughts about a future together.

 _'Yeah, right,'_ he chastised himself harshly. _'You left her behind after you kissed her. Of course you're gonna have a future together, of course!'_

"Commander?"

Kakashi looked up to see a heavily breathing Tobias running next to him. Curious as to why the Uchiha was panting like he had just run for hours on end with no break in between, he arched an eyebrow.

"Can we please take a break?" the Uchiha huffed and dodged sharply a deep hanging tree branch. "We've been running in a neck-breaking speed for almost ten hours. Most of the Chunnin and Jounin are on their limits."

"Huh?"

Not stopping in his run, Kakashi dared to look back over his shoulder only to see his platoon spread out and ready to keel over. It was actually funny to see the famous 7th Platoon red-faced, panting like dogs and drenched in their own sweat. A couple of shinobi had started to lean onto each other, mostly the younger Chunnin though, and in the far, far back Kakashi could even make out a shinobi carrying a petite kunoichi on his back. The whole platoon - all fifty shinobi - had dispersed over at least a mile and nothing reminded them of the orderly platoon they had been when leaving Konoha. At the far end, he could make out the silhouette of Mei making sure that nobody was left behind.

When he slowed down his run - that had felt like an easy jog to him but was actually a kind of breaking a record speed - he realized that they were already near the borders of the Land of Earth.

A closer look at his shinobi told him that he had really pushed them to their limits and he felt slight guilt gnawing on his insides. Apparently he had been so caught up in his thoughts about Anko that he had forgotten about his platoon and just ran.

"We'll take a break here," the time traveler told Tobias, who had fought hard to keep up with him.

"Thank kami!" he huffed out and stopped and let himself fall to the ground with the intention to not move another muscle for at least an hour.

Kakashi threw a disapproving glare at the exhausted Uchiha but stopped his run too and waited for the rest of his platoon to come. Slowly, one after the other caught up to them, all very happy about the fact that their commander had finally taken a break and followed Tobias' example and literally just laid down. It was the most ignorant move they could have done - relaxing in enemy territory - and any other time Kakashi would have skinned them alive for it, but for now he opted to throw disapproving and disappointed looks at them.

Fifteen minutes later, Mei and the last shinobi had reached the others and Kakashi got now the first real impression of how he had pushed his platoon.

"We will be doing some stamina training the next time we'll get the chance to," he muttered to no one in particular.

As the duty fully second-in-command Mei was, she hadn't taken a break as soon as she could but had searched for the silver-haired boy to report back to him and receive her next orders. She found the young commander leaning against a tree and keeping watch over their surroundings whilst the rest of the platoon soothed their sore muscles.

And once again she found herself wondering how they had deserved such an amazing commander.

The boy was by far not perfect - he was cold-hearted, ruthless, reserved and pushed them without mercy to their breaking point and over- but he took his position seriously. Even if he didn't show it she knew he cared about them and would do his best to protect them. It was only proven further by the way he cautiously watched their surroundings, hands on two kunai and ready to attack on the slightest suspicious sound. And Mei had no doubt that he'd be able to protect them all.

In her mind, that was the best commander anyone could ever wish for - someone they knew would have their back and not leave them behind.

She remembered well the first time Kakashi had taught them a lesson that nobody of the 7th platoon would ever forget and she prided herself in serving a great shinobi like him.

_**~Flashback~** _

_Kakashi had only been commander of the 7th platoon for a couple of days when the incident happened._

_He had sent out a team consisting of three chunnin and one jounin to scout out the western side of their campsite and they had been expected back an hour ago. The silver-haired boy- back then he was only ten years old - paced nervously up and down in front of the entrance with Mei and Tobias keeping him company._

_Mei didn't know why Tobias was there as well - it was her job to stay with the commander - but she was secretly glad not to be alone with the boy. She still didn't really know what to think about him, she had only heard great things about him and the many mission reports about him didn't lie, it was just very difficult to believe that he was on pair with the Legendary Sannin._

_Then after another ten minutes, three figures finally appeared in the far distance and hurried closer to the safety of the camp._

_Mei was plagued with worry by the fact that there were only three out of the supposed four shinobi but she tried not to show it too much. She didn't want to agitate Kakashi any more than necessary but what she didn't expect was that as soon the three figures were seen his pacing stopped and he stood tall with an impenetrable look in his eyes._

_When the three shinobi came to a stop before them - out of breath and with a couple of scratches - there wasn't even an inkling of a relieved smile on Kakashi's face._

_"Where is Yuri Inuzuka, your team captain?" he asked harshly, his cold voice sharp as a knife._

_'He knows us by name,' thought Mei incredulously, but her surprise didn't hold for long when she realized that the Jounin who was missing was one of her clan members._

_She knew Yuri well, the man was in his mid-twenties and a really kind soul, sometimes she thought he was too kind. His nin-dog Airi was the sister of her nin-dog Suri and she knew that, just like Suri, Airi was fiercely protective of her partner._

_"I-Inuzuka-san told us t-to leave him behind and finish the mission, commander," stuttered one of the shinobi._

_Slowly the silver-haired boy circled the three trembling chunnin like a predator his prey._

_"Do you know what people are considered when they break the rules and regulations and abandon a mission?"_

_"Weak?" answered one chunnin hesitantly._

_A dangerous smirk grazed Kakashi's face as he stopped circling._

_"No. They are called trash. And do you know what they are when they abandon a teammate and friend?"_

_Scared, the three shook their heads._

_Leaning back, his hands in his pockets and giving them his closed eye smile, Kakashi said in an aloof tone: "They are worse than trash."_

_All color left the chunnin's faces and they were trembling like a branch in a hurricane._

_"So I ask you again, where is Yuri Inuzuka?"_

_"We'll go get him immediately, commander sir."_

_And faster than Mei could have blinked had the three chunnin left the camp to get their team captain back._

_'Incredible,' thought Mei astounded and Tobias' face mirrored the same admiration she felt._

_Taking in the satisfied look on her commander's face, she asked him hesitantly: "Commander, don't you think we should send some shinobi after them? If Yuri send them back than he believed that they were no match for whoever they met."_

_"Of course I'll go after them. What kind of shinobi would I be if I'd abandon my comrades?" replied Kakashi casually and walked out of the camp after the three chunnin._

_Mei was left behind, speechless. She hadn't meant for him to go after them himself! She thought he'd send another team out to do all the work._

_"He's amazing, isn't he?" asked Tobias with something akin to pride in his voice._

_"Yes."_

_'And I'm proud to serve under him.'_

**_~Flashback End~_ **

"Is everything okay, commander?" she asked him when she stood next to him.

With tired eyes, the time traveler looked at his loyal second-in-command.

"Yes, everything is alright."

Mei didn't believe him. Kakashi was always aware of everything around him, the fact that he hadn't seen that his platoon couldn't go on anymore showed her that something bothered him. Despite her wish to help the young boy she knew that he wouldn't open up to her so she kept quiet about it.

"What is our next step?"

Sighing, the time traveler rubbed his temple.

"We'll take a break for a couple of hours. There's no point in carrying on with everyone so exhausted. You should take a break too, Mei."

"Yeah I will," she replied halfheartedly.

"He's right you know."

Delilah Uchiha had stepped next to them and glanced worriedly at her friend. Different to Mei she had taken a break as possible and she also hadn't been busy with making sure that no one was left behind. She really didn't envy her friend for her position, she had had enough with trying to keep up with the crazy speed. Delilah still had no idea how her boyfriend Tobias had been able to catch up to the young commander. 

Mei gave her an exhausted smile and waved off her concern.

"I'm fine, really."

"Take a break and that is an order," told Kakashi her sternly before he left the two kunoichi behind.

"You heard the commander," chuckled Delilah and walked with Mei towards where she knew Tobias would be taking his break.

Two hours later, Kakashi called Mei and Tobias to him to plan the next steps.

"Okay, listen up," he told the two sternly.

"This is going to be a very complicated mission. We will have to destroy the Kannabi Bridge so that Iwa can't bring anymore support into the land and therefore continue on the war. However, this is not the only objective of this mission. The other secret objective is only known to myself and other chosen people. Therefore we will split up. Mei, you will carry on the original mission and destroy the bridge. Take out anyone who stands in your way and I want you to return with no casualties. Platoon 7 is known to make the impossible possible so don't disappoint me."

It hurt Kakashi to give order to kill without mercy - he had made many friends from Iwa during the Fourth Shinobi World War - but he knew if one of his shinobi got killed because they had spared an enemy he'd never forgive himself. He had learned that lesson in the harsh reality of war.

"Understood, Commander," replied Mei immediately.

"Good. Meanwhile I will be fulfilling the other part of the mission. I don't know how long it will take me but if I haven't caught up to you in seven hours you'll return to Konoha. Tobias, you're one of the fastest shinobi in my platoon. After the seven hours are up I want you to split from the platoon and get to Konoha before them. You'll tell Orochimaru and only Orochimaru that the mission has gone wrong. If you've done that your part is done and you'll return to the platoon. Understood?"

The time traveler hoped to meet Madara in the cave where they had had to leave Obito behind. And if the mad Uchiha was there he'd only leave the cave in a box. However, he didn't know when and if Madara would appear and for the case he did and Kakashi got killed, at least Orochimaru would know.

"Hold on for a sec. You're doing the second part by yourself? And what do you mean if you don't return?" asked Tobias warily, the promise he had made to Mikoto-sama faint in his mind.

Kakashi stopped himself from sighing and pinching his nose.

"The second part is top secret and I can't have any distractions. If I were to take any one of you, I'd have to hold myself back and always look out for you. Also, this second part is not to be discussed with anyone is this clear? I've made the choice to tell you about it, don't break my trust," he told them seriously.

Although the two shinobi didn't like the fact that their thirteen-year-old commander would be going alone into enemy territory, they understood that there was nothing they could do to change that. Kakashi was a powerful shinobi and if he said that there would be a chance of him not returning they knew that even if they'd tag along, they'd only hinder him.

"Understood, commander," replied Mei and Tobias simultaneously, both with a sorrowful smile on their faces.

"I wish you the best of luck."

Putting his hands into his pockets Kakashi turned away. He was surrounded by an air of aloofness that none of the adults could understand he possessed. Suddenly, shortly before he vanished into the thick forest, the silver-haired boy stopped in his tracks.

Leaning slightly back to look up into the clouded sky, he suddenly said: "If I don't come back then please look after my friends. Tell them... Tell them that I cared even if I didn't show it. Tell Mikoto to protect Itachi, he's too innocent for this cruel world, and tell Minato-sensei that I am incredible proud to be his student. And if he ever gets Kushina pregnant Obito would be an amazing sensei for the child. Tell Genma and Obito that I am grateful for being my best friends and Orochimaru should know that he's a good man. And tell Anko... tell her I'm sorry for leaving like that."

Then he walked away, waving his hand in a silent goodbye.

"Why do I have the feeling that Commander took on a fight that a mere mortal can't win?" asked Mei with her face pulled into a deep frown.

Kakashi was running directly towards the cave in which the Iwa shinobi had once held Rin captured. With each step he took, the long suppressed memories and guilt started to come up. And then he was right in front of the cave.

He could hear the quiet whispers of the shinobi inside, telling him that just like last time, they had made their campsite here. But different to last time, he wasn't a freshly promoted Jounin but a war-hardened veteran and he didn't have to rescue anyone. His only objective was to kill Madara Uchiha if he appeared here.

The closer he got to that cursed cave the harder it got to differentiate between reality and his memories.

Sometimes he could have sworn to hear Obito's heavy breathing right next to him but when he had panic-strickenly turned around there had been nothing. It drove him crazy and paranoid.

Silently, he walked inside with a drawn kunai. Step for step, he got closer to the unknowing shinobi who's blood would soon be on Kakashi's hands.

In a matter of seconds he was behind the first shinobi, cutting his throat before shunshinning towards the next and pushing his kunai into his kidneys. The last one had the honor to die through a chidori through his chest.

It was so so easy for the time traveler to end the lives of these shinobi that he wanted to laugh and cry at the same time.

He wasn't a legendary powerhouse like Sasuke or Naruto but he too had fought against shinobi that could be considered Gods and the bloody Juubi itself, not to forget the Rabbit goddess Kaguya, and fighting against ordinary shinobi felt like fighting civilians.

A small part of him was glad that neither of his students had ever been forced to fight in a war between nations. Because he knew that at least Naruto would have broken under the guilt of killing other shinobi.

Glancing at the shinobi that had died through his chidori, he realized that he knew this Iwa shinobi. Never would he be able to forget the man that was responsible for Obito's almost death. 

_**~Flashback~** _

_The black haired Iwa shinobi crouched down before the cave entrance and quickly went through the_ _hand signs_.

_"Earth style: Rock breaker!"_

_Suddenly the ceiling started to crack and large rocks started to fall down._

_"This is bad!" exclaimed Obito worriedly._

_Panic-stricken, Kakashi shouted: "Guys, make for the exit!"_

_He needed to get his team out of here safely, he was the team leader after all!_

_Together, they ran toward the exit and what than happened was something Kakashi would never be able to forgive himself._

_A small rock hit his left temple and knocked him unconscious._

_'My new blind spot...' was the last thing he could think before everything went black._

_The next time he opened his eyes, he could feel himself laying on his back and for a moment he had forgotten what happened but then everything came back and he pushed himself up, eye wide open._

_"Rin... Kakashi... You... Okay?" he heard Obito muttering._

_"Obito!" he and Rin screamed simultaneously and he was up on his feet in a second trying to lift the heavy rock under which Obito was buried._

_"Argh!"_

_"Don't... Kakashi... It's okay," whispered Obito calmly. "I... don't think I can make it. My right side is pretty much gone... I don't... I don't even feel anything..."_

_Ignoring his best friend's pleas, Kakashi continued to push against the rock._

_"No... Not like this... Why...?" Rin whispered wobbly with tears in her eyes._

_Suddenly Obito started to cough up blood and Rin let herself fall to the ground._

_"Obito!"_

_Slamming his fist against the ground, the silver-haired Jounin shouted angrily: "This can't be!"_

_Trembling and on his knees, he whispered: "If only I'd come... If only I'd come with you from the start, like you told me to. This never would've happened! So what I'm a team leader! So what I made Jounin..."_

_And then out of nowhere, Obito smiled softly._

_"Kakashi... I'd completely forgotten... I was the only one who didn't... give you a gift..."_

_Bewildered as to how Obito could think about something so meaningless as a gift in such a situation Kakashi looked up at his best friend._

_"I didn't know... what was proper but... I do now... You... see it won't be_ _useless...I'm... giving you my... Sharingan."_

_Kakashis heart stopped for a moment and even Rin halted in her silent crying._

_But Obito was long not finished, knowing that his best friend would blame himself for his inevitable death for ever._

_"Whatever the... the village... may say you are... a great Jounin. I want you... to know that. Please accept..."_

_Determined, Rin brushed away her tears knowing what would come next._

_"Rin..." said Obito quietly. "Use... your medical ninjutsu and have my sharingan... the whole left eye... trans... transplanted to Kakashi."_

_"Kakashi, come here," the girl told her other teammate, unfaltering. "I'll do it now!"_

_Kakashi didn't make any sign of listening to Rin and instead looked ashamed and torn to the ground._

_"I'm about to... die," said Obito with a carelessness that Kakashi couldn't understand. "But I'll... become your eye... and we'll see what happens... in the future..."_

_With a new resolve, Kakashi closed his eye to let Rin do what she had to do._

_With a well placed Jutsu Kakashi opened a path for them. Standing tall on the collapses cave he saw the shinobi crouching on the floor and casually drinking something._

_"You still around? Oh just die already,"_ _said the Iwa shinobi patronizingly._

_For the first time since his father's death, Kakashi let his tears fall unconditionally._

_"Ha... You are just a kid. Shinobi don't cry, you know. Bring it on, crybaby! I'll finish you off here and now."_

_'Crybaby...'_

_How often had he called Obito exactly that..._

_Furiously he opened his eyes, his right free from tears and the dark orb full of hatred and his left spinning with a red sharingan and tears streaming down his face._

**_~Flashback End~_ **

When the time traveler opened his eyes again he was no longer on top of the collapsed cave from his memories but inside and surrounded by corpses.

Silent tears left his eyes and his sharingan flared to live.

_**The Third Shinobi World War. With the sacrifice of many nameless shinobi, the protracted war finally came to a close. In its wake, it also left legends... The stories of great heroes, to be told and retold for generations to come.** _

_**The battle of Kannabi Bridge. That day, two heroes were born in Konoha, each with his own sharingan. One found his name engraved on the memorial stone... the other came to be known as Kakashi of the Sharingan. In time, the tales of his bravery spanned all borders, and beyond.** _

_'A hero, that's what you said sensei. But I'm far from one.'_

"Madara!" the time traveller shouted furiously.

He couldn't wait any longer of the cursed Uchiha.

"Come out!"

For a long while, there was nothing but silence and the occasional chirping of a bird. And when Kakashi had almost dejectedly decided that the mad man wouldn't come, a real ocean of fireballs ascended on him.

The time traveler dodged as many as possible whilst simultaneously forming the hand signs for the 'Hiding like a Mole' technique. He quickly ascended underground to escape the rest of the fireballs and when he returned to the surface again he was greeted by a sea of flames and the surrounding forest burning to the ground.

 _'Damn Uchiha!'_ he thought grimacing and gritted his teeth.

"Kakashi Hatake," said the voice, which the time traveler despised more than anything, teasingly. "What an honor to finally meet you."

Without fear and in all his glory Madara Uchiha stood arrogantly on top of a tree branch, next to him a dark figure that Kakashi immediately recognized as no other than Zetsu.

His mind went into over drive as he saw the condition Madara was in. The man should have been old, almost dying at this point in time but yet he stood in front of the time traveler looking exactly like in the Fourth Shinobi World War. And Zetsu also wasn't in his plan. 

What the f*** was going on?!

"Oh dear, dear boy," chuckled Zetsu. "You should know better. Mother is all-powerful, do you really think a little time travel could stop her?"

All color left Kakashi's face and suddenly he felt very light-headed. What did Zetsu mean?!

 _'No she can' t be here. Calm down,'_ he told himself in attempt to keep his calm.

The time traveler didn't want to talk to them any further and activated his Mangekyo Sharingan. If he had to fight against both of them, the chance to come out alive was minimal but he'd take them with him to hell.

"Lightning Release: Lightning Panther."

He threw the jutsu at the two in an attempt to separate them which actually worked. Deciding that Zetsu was the smaller evil at the moment, he jumped at Madara but had to dodge when his damn Gunbai was swung at him.

"Don't you want to know how we know about you?" asked Madara and smirked that typical Uchiha smirk.

Ignoring his comments Kakashi threw punch after punch but never hitting the man. His roundhouse kick would have almost connected if he hadn't been forced to let himself fall to the ground in the last moment by Zetsu.

With much delight, Madara pushed a kunai through Kakashi's shoulder when the boy was busy with dodging Zetsu. However, to his disdain the time traveler didn't let out a noise of pain but instead grabbed him by the arm, pushing the kunai further in and forming a chidori in his other hand. It was only the fraction of a second before the chidori would have collided with Madara when the man was able to escape Kakashi's grip.

Enraged that the boy had come so close to him, Madara snarled and was behind the boy in the blink of an eye, grabbing his arm and throwing him across the clearing right into the sea of flames.

It was only due to his war-hardened reflexes that Kakashi was able to turn himself in the air so he'd land on his feet and be relatively unscratched from the flames surrounding him.

But then Zetsu appeared from the ground throwing the boy again and this time he was too slow and collided full force with a wall of the cave. For a moment all air was pressed out of his lungs and he saw stars before he regained his feelings and let out a pained groan. Standing up again his hand went automatically to the back of his head and when he pulled it back, red liquid grazed his hand.

_'I need to know how he's able to be so strong. I need to know what part Kaguya is playing.'_

"How?" he shouted angrily.

Madara only full out laughed at the man-turned boy.

"How? Oh, it's so easy. The answer to it all are dreams. The Sharingan consists of dreams and illusions, the Infinite Tsukuyomi consists of dreams, and Kaguya is able to manipulate dreams. It took us a while to figure out that a goddess from another time tried to warn us through our dreams but when we did, we found a way to rejuvenate me."

Kakashi's eyes widened and he felt sick to the core. He hadn't considered or even thought that there was the possibility that Kaguya knew about his time travel and wanted to interfere. Throughout all the time he still hadn't figured out how he jumped back in time so he opted with the belief that Kami wanted him to change things.

He had planned so much to stop Kaguya from ever being freed again, but none of his plans included the fact that Madara and Zetsu knew what was coming.

The time traveler had been so caught up in his hysteric thoughts that Madara was able to summon his Susanoo. With one heavy punch, the giant chakra skeleton swung his fist towards the silver-haired Jounin.

Hastily, Kakashi scratched up every bit of chakra he could in that millisecond before the giant fist would inevitable hit his body. Faster then ever he went through the hand signs for his own Susanoo but it was already too late.

The giant fist connected with his body and hurled him through the air. Mid-air the rip cage of his Susanoo appeared around him, preventing the worst when he hit the ground.

Before he even had the chance to get up kunai and shuriken rained down on him and cut deep into his skin.

Crouching down and covered in his own blood, Kakashi tried to catch his breath again if only for a second.

Giving in to his survival instincts, he hurled himself towards Madara, dodging Zetsu's annoying attacks left and right, and then he was suddenly behind the Uchiha with a shunshinn. His right arm surrounded by a chidori drove determined towards Madara's chest area and finally connected with the ancient shinobi. Although - Kakashi realised when he was hit by Madara's Gunbai and flung towards the ground again - it was only his shoulder that he had hit.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Zetsu sending shuriken towards him again and Madara preparing a Fire Release: Great Flame Flower when suddenly he felt a strong pull in his chest. 

_'The seals!'_ he thought panic-stricken. 

It was the first time that one of his precious people had used one of the seals he had given them when he had first set out to war. Torn between the desire to protect whoever was calling him and his responsibility to kill Madara and Zetsu before Kami knows what happens, he hesitated for a moment. 

Taking a deep breath he closed his eyes to get his act together. 

When Kakashi opened his mismatched eyes again there was no sign of disunity or the inner conflict he had felt only seconds before and all that was left was cold determination. 

Going through a series of hand signs, the time traveler gave in to the pull of the seal and vanished only moments before the shuriken and fire jutsu would have hit him.

Left behind at the burning clearing were Madara and Zetsu both equally enraged that the boy had escaped them and relieved at the same time. Because only minutes after Kakashi had vanished Madara had returned to the state of a fragile old man. The jutsu they had used had only temporarily given him his power back but neither of them had thought that it would take so long to take out a young boy. Although they hadn't succeeded in their mission it was enough to unsettle the time traveler.

Covered in blood and exhausted from the fight and the summon, Kakashi appeared in Itachi's bedroom and in front of a frantic Mikoto as well as Kushina and Tsume who tried to calm the distraught woman. 

When the three woman saw the blood-covered boy they, first of all, let out a worried scream. 

"KAKASHI-KUN, OH MY KAMI, WHAT HAPPENED, DATTEBANE?!" 

"Are you okay, pup?" 

"Kakashi! Where did I put the first aid kit?!" 

Kushina tried to embrace the exhausted boy but he easily side stepped her. 

Whilst the women were frantically trying to somehow help the injured boy, Kakashi cautiously searched the room. 

"Where's Itachi?" he asked harshly when realizing that his little brother was nowhere to be seen.

It was this question that made Mikoto fall to the ground and sob into her hands.

"I don't know! He told me he'd train in the back yard to get just as strong as his nii-san but when I went to get him he was gone! I've searched the whole of Konoha, in every clan compound, every shop, and every training ground, but I can't find him. I can't even feel his chakra here anymore!"

It was the first time that Kakashi saw the strong woman break down and any other time he would have went up to comfort her but right now his heart was caged in a cold grip and he felt like every ounce of life was forcefully pressed out of him.

"Since when?" he asked tonelessly.

Looking at him through a waterfall of tears, Mikoto whispered: "This morning."

_'This morning. That's at least ten hours!'_

His hands already formed the signs for a shunshin when he told her trembling: "I'll find him."

He was gone in the next moment leaving behind the three worried women.

Kakashi had shunshinned directly to his old home and into the secret room with the Hatake clan secrets. His eyes searched frantically the shelf for that one scroll he had stayed away from for ages.

The summoning scroll for his pack.

He had stayed away to protect himself from the pain of seeing his pack but them not being able to remember the adventures they had experienced, but now his otouto was on the line. He'd do anything for the young Uchiha and the best trackers were his ninken.

Pulling the scroll out harshly and wrapping it open, he bit his finger without hesitation and signed his name in blood. And for the first time in years, Kakashi could feel the bond to his pack once again. If the situation were different he'd probably cry in relief and happiness but now there was something more important.

Going through the familiar summoning signs he slapped his hands to the ground, muttering: "Summoning Jutsu: Ninken."

In a cloud of smoke a pack of eight ninken appeared.

 _'Pakkun, Bull, Urushi, Shiba, Bisuke, Akino, Uhei, Guruko.'_ the time traveler thought with tears in his eyes.

"Hey, Boss. It has been a long time since you summoned us," said Pakkun and jumped into the arms of his summoner.

All colour left Kakashi's face as he stuttered perplexed: "W-what? H-how? I-I thought..."

"You think so much you forget the easiest explanations," muttered Pakkun and snuggled closer to the silver-haired boy. 

Soon the Jounin was buried beneath his ninkens. None of them wanted to part with the scarecrow now that they had him back. They had yearned for too long to be with him again.

"I-I don't understand..." muttered Kakashi and patted his ninken softly, almost as if he were afraid they'd vanish.

"Stupid Boss," said Pakkun. "You idiot died therefore making the contract invalid, so when you tried to summon us years ago we could faintly feel the pull but were unable to pass through the dimensions. But when you signed it again and summoned us, we were able to finally come through."

 _'I'm... really an idiot,'_ he thought sheepishly.

The touching reunion was cut short when he suddenly remembered why he had used the summoning scroll in the first place.

"I'm sorry guys but I need you to find Itachi as quickly as possible," he told them worriedly.

"Huh? The Uchiha Itachi?" asked Pakkun bewildered. 

The last time he could remember that Uchiha had tried to kill his summoner.

"A lot has happened and he's currently a four-year-old boy. His scent is still the same, can you do it?"

Nodding the eight ninken scattered to find the scent of Itachi Uchiha, leaving Kakashi alone in his old house and with his troubling thoughts.

Minutes later Pakkun appeared next to the time traveler, telling him that he'd found the scent of the young Uchiha. Not wasting anymore time, the silver-haired boy ran after the little pug followed by his other seven ninken.

They had been running away from Konoha towards the skirmishes on Suna's border when Kakashi finally saw the small raven-haired Uchiha.

"Stop, Itachi."

The young boy spun around with panic-wide eyes and scared out of his mind. His frantic breathing steadied when he identified the person behind him as Kakashi. However, his relief of seeing a familiar face didn't hold for long when he noticed the blood dripping from his nii-san. 

As he stood right now, the silver-haired boy had more resemblance with a demon rather than a human. He was drenched in dark blood form head to toe, his uniform torn to shreds and ice-cold dark eyes. It was a view right of hell.

For a moment, Itachi contemplated if the Shinigami looked scarier than Kakashi but he quickly dismissed the thought and instead ran towards his older brother.

Kakashi eagerly embraced the trembling boy in a much-needed hug. Neither cared about the blood for the moment that now covered Itachi too.

"Otou-sama told me to meet him out here," muttered Itachi and snuggled closer to his brother.

Kakashi had been there for him from the beginning and had given him the love and acceptance that his Otou-sama hadn't. Of course, Fugaku would always say how proud he was of his heir but he'd rarely hug Itachi or tell him he loved him. 

Kakashi had told him that he didn't have to be a shinobi and had supported him when he was too afraid to tell his father about his worries. 

The young Uchiha felt safest whenever Kakashi was around. 

His mother always talked very highly of the silver-haired boy and had told Itachi at least a thousand times the story of how Kakashi had broken into the Uchiha compound only to hold and promise to protect him. It was his favorite story!

"Don't worry. I'm here now. Let's go home, okay? Mikoto is worried sick about you," said Kakashi softly through clenched teeth.

The silver-haired Jounin was furious! He had thought that he'd made sure that Fugaku wouldn't take Itachi out to the battlefield like he had done in his timeline. Guess he was wrong, that stuck-up Uchiha bastard!

"But Otou-sama..."

"No. I won't let you see that," said Kakashi determined and picked up the young boy to carry him back to Konoha. 

"Let's go," he told his ninken, which had surrounded him and the Uchiha in a protective manner. 

Barking in agreement the pack turned away from Suna's borders and towards Konoha.

Pressed against the chest of the young Jounin the child smiled gratefully.

"Thank you," he whispered relieved. 

"No problem, otouto."

In front of Konoha's large gates, Mikoto worriedly paced back and forth. Like the loyal friends they were, Kushina and Tsume were right next to the frantic mother trying o comfort her. 

"Oh my poor boys! I swear... If Fugaku had something to do with this, so help him Kami!" the Uchiha matriarch muttered angrily.

Kushina was ready to start another attempt at calming the furious woman when Tsume suddenly pointed towards the path leading out of Konoha with wide eyes. At the shocked expression of her friend, Kushina was prepared to be greeted by an entire army of enemy ninjas but as she followed the pointing hand of the Inuzuka she only saw a lone figure surrounded by a couple of smaller figures walking towards Konoha. However, they were too far away to identify. The unknown shinobi was carrying someone or something in his arms and was swaying slightly to the left and right as if he was at the brink of collapsing. 

The closer the shinobi got the more she could see. 

At first, she noticed the many ninken that surrounded the person in a protective manner. Then she noticed the tired but determined walk, the slouched shoulders but at the same time the aura of unyielding strength that surrounded the shinobi. Next, she noticed the blood that dripped to the ground with each step the shinobi took. And lastly her eyes caught sight of the telltale silver hair.

"Kakashi-kun!" she exclaimed worried.

Mikoto stopped her pacing abruptly and looked at the Uzumaki and then at the approaching shinobi. Her sharingan flared to live and she zoomed in on the person the Jounin carried and as she recognized the raven hair her knees buckled and she cried in relief. 

"Mikoto," said Kakashi softly when he stood in front of the weeping woman. 

"Kaa-chan!" shouted Itachi happily.

The Uchiha Matriarch immediately threw her arms around her two sons and showered them with kisses. 

"Thank you, thank you. I love you two," she muttered repeatedly. 

"It's okay," murmured Kakashi and gently pulled himself out of the hug. He was still no fan of physical contact.

The time traveler turned to his pack that impatiently waited for their hugs. There was no chance in hell that they'd leave the silver-haired Jounin now that they had him back. 

"Kakashi?"

Mikoto looked at the boy questioningly and bit her lip worriedly. The Jounin arched an eyebrow to tell the kunoichi to continue.

"H-How much..." she couldn't finish the question in fear of the answer she'd get. 

Kakashi, knowing exactly what she wanted to ask, smiled reassuringly.

"Only the beginning of the battlefield. No corpse, no battle, only destruction of the environment. We caught him before he could wander any farther."

"So you are the reason my son didn't come as told."

Suddenly, Fugaku stood in all of his glory behind Kakashi and glared at the young Jounin.

"Fugaku! Don't tell me..." Mikoto started to angrily shout at her husband when the sound of skin hitting skin stopped her rant. 

It took a moment for everyone to realize that Kakashi had just punched the Uchiha Clan Head in the face. But when they did, his ninken howled with laughter.

Seething, Kakashi stood in front of said Clan head. His ice-cold glare daring the Uchiha to say something. 

"Now listen good, Fugaku!"

Kakashi didn't raise his voice nor did he have a threatening underlying tone. It was just his everyday voice, perhaps a bit sharper but nothing major. However, his eyes, dark and bottomless orbs, were a different story and told the Uchiha that he had crossed a line.

"I don't care about your stuck-up traditions or your idiotic desire to show the world that the Uchiha are the strongest. Quite frankly, I find it ridiculous but do what you must do, I don't care. However, I do care about Itachi. And if I find him on a battlefield again because you were determined to show him the cruel reality of war, I swear to Kami, I'll kill you. The boy is only four, for Kami's sake! There are enough lives destroyed during the war, do you want to purposely destroy your child's life as well?"

The time traveler didn't know whether he should find Fugaku incredible brave or stupid but he opted more for stupid as said Uchiha dared to argue. 

"But you were only five when you became a Genin."

"And I hate it," interrupted Kakashi the Clan head harshly. "I hate my life and what it has become. I wasn't ready to kill and I'll be damned if I let Itachi suffer the same fate I did. What you bloody idiots don't seem to realize is that being a prodigy is a damn curse. 

Look at me Fugaku, really look at me. I'm thirteen and I'm Jounin, great. However, I've killed and buried more people than I can count and I can't even look into the mirror without seeing the blood of my victims on my hands. I don't know how to act around other people because whenever I'm around them I search for hidden attacks. I don't know how to show my feelings because I learned it is easier to not feel anything. I am tired of my life. Do you want your son to end up like me? Is that really the fate you wish your child?

Have you ever asked him what he wants to do with his life? Did you know that he thinks about not becoming a shinobi? And don't come me with that bullshit excuse about every Uchiha being a shinobi. Just let him live his own life, you've lived yours! If he wants to be a shinobi, let him. If he wants to be a painter, let him. If he wants to run around Konoha screaming in happiness, goddammit, let him! He's a child and not some tool! Have I made myself clear?"

Taken aback, Fugaku nodded quickly and stared wide-eyed at the Jounin. He couldn't stop the small feeling of fear settling into his heart. Meanwhile, the three kunoichi had watched the whole thing perplexed and with gaping mouths unable to understand what the heck just happened.

Itachi didn't know either but he understood enough to know that his brother had stood up to his father, something Itachi would have never dared to do, and fought for him. Smiling, he cuddled closer to his mother. Nothing could ever happen to him as long as Kakashi was with him, he was sure of that. Content with his life, he fell asleep. 


	26. Chapter 25

It was exactly six hours and fifty minutes after they had split from Kakashi when the 7th platoon finished the battle against the Iwa shinobis and destroyed the Kannabi Bridge.

For Mei and Tobias the next ten minutes were spent with nervously pacing up and down and exchanging worrying, yeah even scared looks. With growing fear they stared at the time and there agitated behaviour didn't go unnoticed by the other shinobis.

Two minutes before the seven hours were up Delilah had enough of the weird behaviour of her boyfriend and she stumped over to him, stopping him in his way.

"What is going on?" she demanded and stared at Tobias and Mei.

Before the two were able to say something, Taro and Naomi came over as well.

The Hyuuga crossed his arms and said accusingly: "You two are acting very strange ever since the battle started."

"Just tell us what's going on." added Naomi gently.

The two exchanged a quick glance before Tobias sighed heavily and put his arm comforting around his girlfriend.

"I'm sure that you've noticed that during the battle Commander was missing." started Mei slowly and assessed their surroundings quickly.

"Yes. You told us that Commander was fighting on the Iwa shinobis from the other side with a small team." replied Delilah suspiciously.

Embarrassed, Tobias scratched his neck and muttered: "Yeah, that wasn't exactly the truth."

Faster than he could have dodged, Delilah had rammed her fist into his side and the Uchiha doubled over in pain and shock.

"You lied to me." she hissed hurt.

"It was an order!" exclaimed Tobias hurriedly when he saw the hurt expression of his girlfriend.

The Uchiha immediately felt guilty and scurried towards her boyfriend to help him up.

Whilst the to Uchihas dealt with their relationship, Taro had time to go over the facts and he didn't like what he came up with, not one bit.

"Commander told you to lie to us so where is he now? Considering your worried expressions he should have been back from where ever he went." Taro said and scrutinised Mei with his gaze.

Quickly, Delilah stopped her conversation with Tobias and listened up.

Sighing, Mei rubbed her temple before saying quietly: "You're right. Before we set out to the battle of the Kannabi Bridge Commander told us that we'd split up. We - platoon 7 - would fulfil the mission and destroy the Kannabi Bridge whilst Commander would do a second, secret mission. Apparently, only he and another person know about that mission so he went alone - without any back up. He told us that if after seven hours he hadn't caught up to us, we had orders to retreat and return to Konoha."

Frowning, Tobias added: "I was meant to split up from the platoon and return to Konoha as quickly as possible and tell Orochimaru-sama a secret message."

And once again, Tobias doubled over in pain when Delilah hit him over the head.

"What was that for?" he grumbled and rubbed his aching head.

"What are you still doing here?" Delilah demanded and glared worriedly at him.

"Huh?"

Shacking his had disappointed, Taro added: "It's seven hours and fifteen minutes since we started the battle."

Tobias and Mei stared with widened eyes at each other, before the Uchiha swiftly peaked his girlfriend on the lips and shunshinned away. He had a mission to fulfil and maybe Orochimaru-sama knew what was going on and what their silver haired Commander got into.

Awkwardly, Kakashi stood in front of Orochimaru's house his hand ready to knock politely. But something kept him from doing exactly that. The mere thought of looking at the Snake Sannin made him uncomfortable and he didn't even need to think about why. Or perhaps who the reason was for this feeling that couldn't be described as anything else than guilt and shame.

Anko.

The slightest thought of her name tore his heart apart.

He had hurt her - unimaginable so - and in a way he had hurt or at least let down Orochimaru too. It wasn't like the Sannin was his best friend but he was the one person the time traveller could confide in and during the years he had become an important part of his life. And to see his friend looking at him with disappointment was something he wasn't sure he could endure.

The decision was taken from him when Orochimaru himself opened his door.

For a moment the Sannin just stared at the Jounin, was it because of his actions with Anko or the fact that he was still covered in his own blood and that some of his injuries wouldn't stop bleeding, he didn't know. But in the end the Snake Sannin pushed open his door and motioned the boy to come in.

In silence the two walked into Orochimaru's living room and sat down on the couch. Not knowing what to say Kakashi looked awkwardly around the scarcely decorated house. It was pretty much how he had expected the Sannin to live. There were shelves over shelves with books over jutsus, the history of the lands, about different taijutsu styles and so on. You could say the Sannin had a small private library in his house. 

Then there were a couple of photos on the wall, one of the three Sannins and Hiruzen when they were Genins, another of when they made Jounin, one of Anko and one very old one of a man and a woman that had an undeniable similarity to Orochimaru himself. And then there was one of Anko and himself and the time traveller could remember the day it was taken as if it had been yesterday.

They had been training like crazy for the majority of the day and in the end Anko couldn't even stand straight much less walk without collapsing. So Kakashi had lifted her on his back and carried her around Konoha. They had had so much fun that day.

 _'That were good times.'_ he thought sorrowful.

Now he had made everything so much more complicated!

Suddenly a pillow was thrown against his head and the time traveller turned around incredulously.

"Did you just hit me with a pillow?"

The Sannin only smirked at him and arched his eye brow.

"I needed to get your attention. Your bleeding all over my couch and I don't know if you know but getting blood stains out of fabric is a right piece of art."

Kakashi hadn't even noticed that he was loosing more and more blood.

"Sorry." he muttered and looked away.

How could he even think for a minute that Orochimaru had forgiven him for his actions.

Sighing the Sannin stood up.

"You're a right idiot. Just wait here I'm getting some bandages."

Before Kakashi could reply and tell him that it was alright he was gone and back again. Kneeing next to the silver haired boy he started to wipe of the old blood from his face and head.

"Before you tell me what happened on the mission, we'll talk about what the hell went through your mind when you left my student on a park bench."

"I'm sorry."

Grimacing, Orochimaru shook his head.

"It's not me you should apologise to."

Letting his head hang defeated, Kakashi whispered: "I know."

Carefully examining the back of the the time travellers head, he replied wryly: "Let's start with what happened, hmm?"

"What did Anko tell you?" Kakashi asked and avoided to look into Orochimaru's eyes.

"Nothing. I was the one to find her knocked out on a park bench and your chakra signature all around her. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that something happened between you two."

"I... She kissed me..."

The Snake Sannin began to wrap a bandage around the boys head and purely by accident he may have tightened it a bit harsher than it had to be, but purely by accident.

"I don't see the problem."

"I... kissed her back..."

It was the first time that Orochimaru could see the time traveller blush. Suppressing his giant smirk he continued to patch him up without mentioning it.

"I still don't see the problem."

"I'm not from here."

"And...?"

"I'm like three times her age."

"You're thirteen."

"I'm dangerous to be around."

"She's a kunoichi. Her whole life is dangerous."

"I might not be able to protect her."

"She doesn't need your protection. She's strong."

"I have a mission to fulfil."

"Don't we all have missions?"

"I... don' t deserve her...."

A small smile grazed Orochimarus' face and he gently finished bandaging the boys head.

"Now you're finally telling me the true problem."

Taking a step back, Orochimaru looked Kakashi directly into the eyes so that the stubborn silver haired Jounin would really understand what he'd to say.

"Kakashi, just tell me. Why did you come back if not to change things? This is no longer your original time line it is a whole new world and you have the chance to be finally happy! Don't let it slip away because your insecure! And honestly, I don't think Anko could find anyone better than you. You are the bravest and most loyal shinobi I've ever gotten the honour of meeting. You deserve the world Kakashi! You chose to protect a world, that you knew was, no longer your own and put your feelings behind the well being of others. I don't think many could have done what you did. So just for once, be selfish Kakashi! Forget about the things around you and hold on to what makes you happy."

Hesitantly, almost as if he was afraid to ask, Kakashi asked: "Are you sure it's okay?"

"Yes!" replied the Sannin with a determination that rivalled Naruto's. "But the real question is, what do you feel for Anko? Does she make you happy?"

Lost in his thoughts the time traveller murmured: "Without her... I feel incomplete... as if something is missing. I'm worried... whenever she isn't around because...than I can't protect her. When she cries... I want to kill whoever made her upset. She is the only one who can cheer me up... no matter what happened. Her crazy attitude gives my dark world colour and I feel like when she smiles the whole world brightens up. I don't want to loose her... ever."

Suddenly, Kakashi opened his eyes wide and whispered toneless: "I like her, don't I?"

Smirking Orochimaru patted the boys' silver hair and replied teasingly: "You finally figured it out." 

A blush that rivalled Kushinas hair covered the boys face and he quickly hid his face behind his hands. 

"What should I do know?" 

"Know my dear Kakashi, you'll tell me what exactly happened on your mission and why you were injured, when Madara should be an ancient fragile man and then you'll go find Anko and tell her the exact same thing you just told me.", said the Sannin and rolled his eyes in a joking manner.

Who would have guessed that he was the one to give the great Kakashi Hatake relationship advice. 

Suddenly, Kakashi was back into his old serious form although a small blush still covered his cheeks. Clearing his voice he started to retell what exactly went wrong on the Kannabi Bridge mission.

"First of all, I kinda punched Fugaku Uchiha in the face and told him to keep his idiotic ideas away from Itachi."

Shocked, Orochimaru chocked on his own spit and started to cough violently. 

"You did what?!" he chocked out, inwardly wondering if the time traveller even cared that Fugaku was a damn clan head and that they were partly reliant on his support. 

"I punched him." repeated Kakashi and had the audacity to look smug. "Anyway, the important thing is that Kaguya managed to warn Madara and Zetsu and somehow Madara is back into his primes."

"What?!" Orochimarus' eyes almost popped out of shock.

Sighing, Kakashi put his head into his hands: "Yeah, I had the same reaction. Anyway, Zetsu and Madara basically played ping pong with me. They are just as strong as they were in the past and I have no idea how to kill them. We couldn't even really kill him the first time around and there we had Naruto and Sasuke and Sakura."

"We will find a way to beat them. This time you fought them alone and in a body that isn't as strong as it used to be."

Suddenly, Orochimarus' door was ripped out of its hinges and a panting Tobias stormed inside the Sannins' house.

"OROCHIMARU-SAMA! OROCHIMARU-SAMA! THE MISSION HAS F... Failed..." the words kept stuck in the Uchihas' throat when his blazing sharingans fell on to the silver haired person sitting on Orochimarus' sofa.

"COMMANDER?!"

"Ah, hi Tobias." greeted Kakashi the Uchiha in a laid back voice.

"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL HAPPENED TO YOU?!" asked, well rather screamed Tobias when he realised that the Jounin was basically covered in bandages.

"Shh! Do you want to make everyone aware of the fact that I'm back and make it a bigger deal than it is?" asked Kakashi hastily and motioned the loud Uchiha to quiet down.

Maybe Tobias was related to Obito? That would definitively explain his hang to dramatics and loud voice.

"He can't make a bigger commotion than you when you punched Fugaku. Mikoto might not talk about it but Tsume and Kushina won't be able to keep their mouths shut and by tomorrow morning everyone will know." said Orochimaru wryly and inspected his broken door curiously.

" YOU PUNCHED FUGAKU-SAMA?!" shouted Tobias and let himself fall on the couch with an awe-stricken and perplexed expression. 

"You should go and find Anko. I'll deal with Tobias." said Orochimaru and motioned the time traveller to leave through the broken door. 

Hesitantly, Kakashi stood up and strode towards the door. 

"Thanks." he muttered and with a last glance at the paralysed Uchiha he left the Sannins' house.

Anko sat on top of the hokage monument and watched with awe the beautiful sun set and how it painted Konoha in a magical hue. It looked so peaceful from up here, with no sign of the war that was going on outside and teared apart the nations.

"Anko-chan."

Her heart missed a few beats when that gentle dark voice, that had enchanted her from the beginning, reached her ears. She didn't want to turn around. Maybe it wasn't her Kakashi. Maybe it was just an illusion - a dream - again. She had had them often, thinking that she had heard the voice of the silver haired boy and when she turned around, excited and happy, he wasn't there.

"Please, look at me."

That pleading tone didn't fit her Kakashi, he was a strong and proud shinobi and there was nothing that could make him beg. If she turned around now, the dream Kakashi would vanish and she'd be left with her longings again but at least she wouldn't have to hear him with that broken and guilt ridden voice.

Slowly, Anko turned around, arming herself for the disappointment that was inevitable to come. But when her eyes met the dark bottomless orbs she liked so much, she felt herself falling apart. 

He was there! 

Battered and bruised and with a bandage around his head, that for once kept his wild silver hair in place, but none the less he was here in front of her!

"K-Kakashi-kun?" she whispered hesitantly and her heart jumped when she received that gentle smile she adored so much.

"I... Let me explain, please!" Kakashi pleaded and when Anko didn't run away he insecurely took a step closer.

"I'm sorry that I left you after the k-kiss, I really am!"

Tears brimmed Ankos' eyes. She knew it had been stupid to kiss him without being sure that he felt the same, but he had kissed her back but he had also left her. They were best friends so maybe he just didn't want to hurt her by pushing her away....

"I-I understand. You don't feel the same and... it's okay...." she chocked out whilst tears ran down her cheeks.

With shock widened eyes Kakashi stopped in his approach. That was not what he wanted to say!

"No!" he shot out and with a couple of steps he was next to the girl. "Kami, I was just scared!"

Surprised by his own outburst Kakashi slapped his hands in front of his mouth. Kami, he was acting like Naruto!

"S-scared?" Anko whispered confused.

When she looked at him with those innocent eyes, Kakashi gave up on his pride and whispered: "I'm so scared to lose you, Anko. So so fucking scared. You're important to me and I can't lose you. I like you, I really do but being with me is dangerous and I didn't want to put you in any danger. I'm an A-rank shinobi with a kill on sight order in the bingo book and if any of the other nations find out that you're my weakness and target you, than... I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to you."

Softly the crying girl put her hand on the boys face and caressed his cheek.

"You like me?"

Looking at her in despair Kakashi asked: "Is that all you heard from what I just told you?"

"It was the only important thing. The rest doesn't matter, not to me at least."

"I- I want to be with you, Anko, I really do but I know a relationship consists of trust and there are things that I can't tell you no matter what." whispered Kakashi and leaned into Anko's hand.

Thinking about what he had just told her for a moment, Anko made a decision.

"I don't care if you have secrets, for me it is enough to know that they exists. Whatever you have to do and wherever you have to go because of that I will always be right next to you. Just please give us a chance."

Kakashi looked Anko deep into his eyes, searching for a sign of doubt or hesitation but when he didn't find anything a soft smile grazed his lips.

"'Us'... I like the sound of that."

Anko leaned slightly forward and this time it was Kakashi who pressed his lips sweetly against hers. And when he met her warm lips his heart exploded with a happiness that he had never before experienced and he couldn't get enough. Ankos' lips were like a drug and Kakashi didn't mind being addicted to it. 

Breathing heavily they pulled apart, both children smiling brightly. 

"Don't leave me now.", Anko whispered softly.

Grinning, he pulled her closer and wrapped his arms around her so that her head was laying on his chest.

"I'm not leaving you, not ever."

Anko leaned more into the hug and wrapped her arms around his torso.

"One day, Anko, one day I'll tell you everything."

If Anko would have looked up she would have seen the loving look that Kakashi gave her but also the doubt and worry in his eyes. Would he be around long enough to tell her? There was Madara and Zetsu and then there was the nine-tail's attack in a couple of years. He had started to change the time line but he had the feeling that time didn't like being tampered with and that the 10th of October would be a day of pain, tears and bloodshed.


	27. Chapter 26

_~Time skip a couple of days~_

A lot had happened in the last couple of days but Kakashi felt strangely calm. Maybe it had to do with the fact that Anko hadn't left him for more than a couple of minutes the last days, maybe it didn't. Perhaps, her behaviour appeared to be clingy and desperate to others, but for Kakashi it was like heaven. Her positive attitude and the fact that she always managed to make him smile, lifted his dark thoughts and chased his worries away. 

It went even so far that one night Anko had even stayed over at the Uchiha clan compound, much to the displeasure of Fugaku and Orochimaru. But they hadn't cared about what either of the men thought and what rumours could arise because of that. They had spent the entire night in the arms of the other, sharing sweet kisses and enjoying the warmth of each other. It was one of the happiest times the time traveller had ever experienced.

Right now, they were walking through Konoha hand in hand, a slight red hue covering Anko’s cheeks and a satisfied smirk playing around Kakashi’s lips.

Many of the villagers watched them with incredulous gazes. It was more than an unusual sight to see the feared Silver Reaper hand in hand with a girl much less Orochimaru’s crazy student. Most of them had at first thought that the rumour that the Kakashi Hatake went out with Orochimaru's student, Anko Mitarashi, was only that - a rumour made up by some bored, gossip addicted kunoichis. When the two had then walked through Konoha with their hands intertwined for the first time, quite a lot villagers had gotten a heart attack and thought they were imagining it.

There was one woman who had been totally ecstatic with the news, Mikoto Uchiha. The Uchiha had smothered them with hugs and kisses when she had witnessed, how Kakashi couldn't resist and had kissed Anko secretly on the cheeks whilst they were in the Uchiha clan head house. Obviously, it wasn't as secretly as he had thought.

They hadn't really planned on telling anyone, after all it wasn't any one’s business, but Mikoto could be a very gossip loving woman when she wanted to. And boy was she happy to tell everyone in Konoha about the new couple.

Orochimaru had only arched an eyebrow as if asking if the news should have surprised him, when they had told him about them. Perhaps, they had forgotten in their newly found happiness, but he had been the one to push Kakashi to finally admit his feelings. But Kakashi hadn't forgotten and he probably never would. He owned the Sannin a lot, not that he would ever tell him that.

However, there were some people that didn't like the news. 

Kushina was one of them. 

When she had first heard those outrageous rumours, she had scoffed and moved on. There was no way that Kakashi would ever get as close to the little purple-haired witch as the rumours had said. He had even flinched away from her touch! Hers! But when she had heard them over and over again, she had had enough. 

She had stormed over to the Uchiha compound and had almost broken the clan heads house door; she had knocked that strongly. When little Itachi had opened the door and politely let the furious Uzumaki in, only for him to tell her proudly that his brother was out with his girlfriend, she had lost all colour in her face. Luckily, neither Kakashi nor Anko had crossed her way yet.

Not to mention Rin. 

The brunette had probably taken it the worst of all. Nobody had told her about the news, no, she had witnessed the sickly lovely act with her own eyes. And it made her sick. 

She had worked on the ridiculous training regime Kakashi had given her and the others years ago, when she had heard laughter from another training ground and decided to check it out. She hadn't expected to see her Kakashi-kun playing around with that crazy kunoichi! When Anko had tripped and caused them both to fall onto each other and then to the ground and Kakashi had only laughed, she was furious. And when the silver-haired boy had even given her a loving kiss, something shattered inside her and her jealousy and fury knew no bounds. She should have been in Anko’s place, it was rightfully hers! She would destroy whatever illusion they had and take what was hers! Neither of the two knew about the hateful thoughts that crossed Rin’s mind.

Well, until now, when Rin ' _accidentally_ ' met the two on their walk through Konoha.

"Hi, Kakashi-kun!" she shouted and clung to the silver-haired boy’s arm, fully aware of the angry expression that crossed Anko’s face.

"Uh, hello Rin," greeted Kakashi his teammate awkwardly and tried to get out of her possessive hold.

The touch of another person was still uncomfortable, except if it were Anko or Itachi. But Rin was so caught up with her revenge against Anko that she didn't notice it.

"Hello Rin," Anko pressed out through gritted teeth.

The brunette pissed her of so much! And the fact that she threw herself on her boyfriend pissed her of even more.

Rin ignored the purple-haired girl and continued to press Kakashi’s arm into her chest whilst saying sweetly: "Kakashi-kun, I have to talk to you! It is very urgent!"

Torn between spending time with his girlfriend and listening to what important news Rin might have to say, the time traveller looked helplessly at Anko, telling her that it was her choice.

Even though Anko hated leaving Kakashi with Rin, she knew that he would continue to worry if she didn't let him talk to her. 

So, sighing and faking a reassuring smile, she told him: "Go talk to her, I'll wait at Ichiraku, okay?"

Kakashi couldn't even give her a quick peak on the lips as Rin pulled him already away. 

Annoyed, the time traveller tried not to glare at Rin even though it was hard. After she had pulled him almost across the whole of Konoha he had enough. Stopping so abruptly that Rin tripped, he crossed his arms and stared at her. 

"What do you have to tell me? I don't want to let Anko wait for too long." 

When Kakashi hadn't even twitched when she had tripped and instead had almost ordered her to talk with a cold voice, something inside Rin shattered and her original plan of sweet talking Kakashi to leave Anko was thrown out of the window. No, she had had enough. She would destroy them so utterly that there would be no chance of them ever getting back together, even if that meant hurting Kakashi to the point that he closed himself off again, she didn't care. 

"Anko is lying to you! She doesn't love you, how could she?" shouted Rin overtaken by her jealousy. 

The next words went so easily over her lips that she wondered momentarily if she really believed them and was just too blinded to see the truth earlier. 

"Nobody could ever love you because you are a bloodthirsty monster, Kakashi! A monster!"

She loved the silver-haired boy but now she wanted nothing more than to hurt him like he had hurt her. He should feel the same pain!

"The world isn't kind, Rin. And if you have something that you hold dear, you will do anything and everything to protect it. Even if that means becoming a monster," stated the time traveller coldly.

A monster.

Many of his enemies had called him that but hearing a friend - a teammate - utter those same harsh words hurt. And he wondered how many of his friends thought of him as one too. A merciless, bloodthirsty monster.

Angered by Kakashi’s' apparent carelessness, Rin shouted furiously: "I hate you!"

Turning around, she ran way, leaving behind a hurt silver-haired boy. What she didn't know was that she had partly achieved her goal, just not quite how she had imagined it.

Yes, there was a moment Kakashi had doubted Anko’s and his relationship but when he remembered her hurt expression and her tears after he had first left her, he knew that Rin was wrong. Perhaps, she was right that Anko didn't love him, but she felt at least something for him. And she had never lied to him, not ever.

So instead of cutting her of like Rin had hoped, he closed the walls around his heart for others. 

He knew that neither Orochimaru nor Mikoto or Itachi would ever think of him as a monster, but he didn't know about the rest. He hadn't made the same strong bonds as in his previous life with Minato or Kushina or his other friends. They didn't know and trust him like in his other life so he couldn't blame them if they thought of him as a monster.

 _'Kind,'_ he thought disgusted. 

_'As if the world could ever by kind. The world is brutal and harsh, there is no ounce of kindness in it and everyone who believed in it is an idiot.'_

Team 7 had believed in it and they had paid the price for it. It had made them stronger, but it had also killed a part of them, that they would never be able to get back. Scoffing, he put his hands in his pockets and walked away.

Meanwhile Rin was running through Konoha with tears streaming down her face. She was angry and hurt and oh, so angry! She needed to get out of this suffocating city! 

Pushing out her chakra, she searched for Obito's chakra signature and quickly found him at one of the many training grounds.

"We're gonna take a mission!" she shouted and grabbed the perplexed Uchiha's wrist. 

Ignoring Obito's frantic questions she continued to pull him through Konoha and towards the hokage tower. 

"Why do you want to take a mission so badly?" asked Obito finally shouting when they were in front of the Hokage Tower. 

Rin turned around and smiled at him sweetly. 

"I thought we could spend some time together and we still need a couple of c-rank missions before we can make Chunin." 

Rin calmed her guilty subconscious with the knowledge that those reasons were all true even though they weren't the main ones for leaving so abruptly. She hated lying to the Uchiha, he was always so understanding and if she hadn't been so fixated on Kakashi, maybe she could have even liked him more than a friend. 

A bright smile grazed Obito's face thinking that his crush wanted to spend more time with him. 

_'Maybe she is finally getting over Bakashi!'_

"If it's so, then come on. What are we waiting for?" 

This time it was the Uchiha who pulled her with him, and Rin forced the quiet voice that told her that Obito would get hurt if she continued, to shut up.

"So, you two want a mission?" asked Hiruzen again and stared at the two genin in front of him thoughtfully. 

"Hai, Hokage-sama!" stated Rin and Obito went even so far to claps his hand together and bow slightly. 

"Please!" 

"Hmm," taking a long drag from his pipe he mused over the odd request. "I can't send Minato with you because I need him on Kumo's border soon."

Smiling politely, Rin replied: "That's okay Hokage-sama. Maybe you have another Jounin that could accompany us?" 

A name crossed Hiruzen's mind, but he wasn't sure how the two genin would feel about it. In the end they would have to learn to deal with any kind of shinobi so why not give them a lesson now? So, he had made his choice. 

"There is a mission that requires you to check out the borders of the Land of Water. There has been evidence that Iwa shinobi have made a camp there and your job is it to see if it is indeed true. Your teammates will be the Chunin Ibiki Morino and the Jounin Taiki Nakamura. I'll send for them immediately and you'll move out straight away. Go pack your bags for a weeklong mission and meet up at Konoha's gates in thirty minutes," said Hiruzen and held back the smirk that wanted to graze his face. 

Ibiki could be very stubborn and scary and Taiki even more so. The two were perfect for the T&I sector but could be very difficult to deal with otherwise. Hence, perfect to give the two children a new experience. 

"Thank you, Hokage-sama!" shouted the two and bowed before running out and towards their houses. 

_'Ah, such innocent children,'_ thought Hiruzen and chuckled but then chocked on the smoke of his pipe and coughed loudly.

Thirty minutes later they had met up with Ibiki and Taiki and were now on their way to Kiri. Neither of the two T&I shinobis were very excited for this mission, even less when they figured out that they were basically playing nanny for two genin and they didn't hesitate to let the two know this. 

"Hurry up girl or is that all you can do." 

"Careful, Uchiha you almost tripped over that branch. I thought your sharingan was ah so amazing but apparently without it, you're just a clumsy rock." 

Rin and Obito gritted their teeth and continued to push chakra to their legs. Neither would give the other two shinobis the satisfaction to give up. This wasn't how they had imagined their mission!

They had been running for two days until they had reached the border to the Land of Water. And honestly, Rin and Obito were at the end. Ibiki had mercilessly used mental torture in form of mean comments at them for the whole travel and Taiki was even worse. The Jounin made them want to rip their hair out or strangle him, most of the time both. 

Suddenly, Taiki stopped and motioned the others to stop too. It was the first time that the two genin had seen him so alerted and it made them agitated. Ibiki had copied the Jounin’s movement and had pulled out a kunai and was now attentively searching their surroundings. 

A water dragon hit the four shinobi and forced them to spread out. Mist surrounded them and took away their ability to see. 

Taiki cursed silently and searched for the chakra presence of the other three. He had quickly found Ibiki who held the Uchiha on his collar but before he could find the Nohara girl, they were surrounded by foreign shinobi. The Mist lifted slightly to give view of the seven shinobi around them and Rin on the other side of the clearing. 

Now, Taiki had all reason to curse out loud. That weren't just any foreign shinobis, the seven different swords on their back were evidence enough to that.

"Ibiki," he whispered. "You'll take Uchiha and Nohara and run. I'll buy you some time." 

But it should never come that far. Because one of the shinobi had shunshinned in front of Rin and knocked her out. 

"Rin!" shouted Obito and tried to get to the brunette. 

"Ibiki!"

That was enough for the Chunin to grab the shouting Uchiha and shunshin away. Taiki was left behind with the seven sword men of the mist. Gritting his teeth, he made his peace that he'd never be able to bring his little girl into bed again and never kiss his wife for the last time. Going against all seven sword men was a suicide mission for almost all shinobi, but if it meant that two children - the king of Konoha - would have more time to escape, he was okay with it.

Kakashi paced worriedly up and down, his hands going nervously through his wild hair making it look even more tousled than usual. 

"How could he let them leave?" 

Sighing, Orochimaru leaned back on his couch. 

"Kakashi, calm down, please." 

"She's the key to everything. If she's gone Obito will be going on a rampage!" 

"Kakashi..." 

"Just think about what happened last time. How can I protect her when she's not even here? It was a foolproof plan, she just needed to stay in Konoha!" 

"Kakashi, nothing will happen. That day where she's going to be taken is still far away." 

Perhaps, Orochimaru had some kind of curse because he had just closed his mouth after uttering those reassuring words, when his door was flung open and Obito stormed inside. 

"Bakashi! You have to help me! They took her! Kiri took her!" 

"What?" the time traveller mouthed toneless and all colour left his face

Wondering, how the heck he had ended up in the middle of trying to change the fate of the world, Orochimaru sighed dejected and stood up. 

"Uchiha, out! I have to talk to Kakashi." 

Kakashi was so paralysed from shock that he couldn't even protest when the Snake Sannin grabbed Obito by the collar and carried the loudly shouting Uchiha outside. 

"That shouldn't have happened. Not yet..." the time traveller muttered frantically. 

Grabbing the trembling silver-haired boy by his shoulders, Orochimaru kneed down to look him into the eyes. 

"Breathe for kami’s sake. I think we're experiencing some kind of butterfly effect. I read in some ancient book that time is as flexible as it is rigid. It was only a matter of time until we'd have encountered problems caused by the changes we made. Hence, the Nohara girl's capture happened earlier than planned and there was no way you could have known. We just have to save her, easy. Okay?"

Yeah...yeah, we just have to save her... ", muttered Kakashi shocked.

Before Orochimaru could stop the time traveller from doing something stupid, he sunshinned away. And Orochimaru sighed once more. Somehow the Snake Sannin had the feeling that he'd get his first grey hairs quite early.

Kakashi wasn't the only who stormed inside the Hokage Office and demanded to be part of the rescue team for Rin Nohara and Taiki Nakamura. Hence, causing Hiruzen to have an even greater headache than he already had.

"I can't let three of my strongest shinobi go after a genin and Jounin that most likely are already dead. If any of the other nations find out that the Yellow Flash, the Red Hot-blooded Habanero and the Silver Reaper are in the Land of Water and plan on infiltrating Kiri, they will not only send all forces to Kiri but will also be able to pull the currently neutral Kiri on their side," said Hiruzen annoyed to the three people in front of him - Minato, Kushina and Kakashi.

"Yeah, because Kiri is so neutral..." muttered Kushina under her breath.

Hiruzen decided to ignore the red-haired's comment, partly because the young Jounin was the bigger problem at the moment. The boy had gone so pale that he could easily rival an Uchiha and his usually cold dark eyes were drowning in worry. He hadn't thought that it would affect the boy so much after all, he had hardly spent time with the Nohara girl ever since he had made Jounin. 

That was indeed true, but Hiruzen didn't know that Rin was essential for keeping Obito on the right side otherwise he might have also been far more worried. 

"I have to go!" exclaimed Kakashi and started to pace again. 

Hiruzen pinched his nose and sighed. 

"I know she was your teammate, but you'll stay here, Kakashi. I need you and your platoon on Suna's borders. The leading commander there mentioned signs of Suna's special corps, the Puppet Brigade, and if they are there, then we will need all your power." 

"I can do both! I can reach Kiri, save Rin and be at Suna's borders in two days, at most!" exclaimed Kakashi without thinking what his words could do. 

Hiruzen had had enough. He didn't need to justify his decisions in front of a Jounin even if he was a prodigy and war legend. 

"That is an outrageous proposition! If you haven't suddenly acquired the Hiraishin then there is no way that you could do it."

 _'With Kamui I'd only need a few minutes to get to Kiri and Suna,'_ thought the time traveller but kept quiet. 

It would only cause him bigger problems if he accidentally spilled news about his sharingan. 

"My decision is final! Minato, you and a team of three Jounin will go to Kiri and try to find Rin Nohara and Taiki Nakamura." 

"Hai, Hokage-sama."

Enraged, Kakashi stormed out, unable to be in the office any longer. 

Somehow, he had found his way to the memorial stone and stood now in front of it. His hands were in his pockets and his eyes, that resembled a storm, read over the many names that were already on it and the many more names that would be engraved on it in the future. 

Sometime later, it started to rain and Kakashi leaned his head towards the crying sky, letting the heavy rain drops stream down his face and in some twisted way cleaning him from his guilt. 

He felt so _old_ and so _tired_. 

A warm hand was put on his shoulder and Kakashi glanced at the person only to see Orochimaru staring at the memorial stone too. 

An hour later or so, he the time traveller felt small, gentle hands wrap around his torso and a body pressed against him from behind. 

Anko didn't know why Kakashi was staring at the memorial stone like he was in an entirely different world and saw something that she couldn't, but she knew that he was hurt and needed to be comforted. 

None of them cared about the rain that hailed down on them and so they stood in front of the dark stone for hours on end. 

When the sun rose the next day, Minato had made the impossible possible. With his Hiraishin he had been in Kiri, searched everything and everywhere but had to give up with a heavy heart. 

The blond found Kakashi in the same place he had been since the day before, in front of the memorial stone together with Orochimaru and Anko.

"I'm sorry Kakashi. I'm so sorry," the usually cheerful Jounin whispered sorrowful. "I couldn't find her body. There was a lot of old blood where they had been ambushed and Taiki-san's corps was there too. We even got into Kiri, thanks to my toad summons, but she wasn't there. And... I can't feel her chakra presence anymore."

The only indication that Kakashi had heard the blond was the way he clenched his fists so hard that his knuckles turned snow-white.

Dejected by the response or rather the lack of it of his student, Minato whispered: "I will tell Obito. I am truly sorry."

If Minato would have waited two seconds before turning away, he would have heard the silver-haired boy whisper hoarsely: "Me too."

Somewhere in a secret cave, three people watched everything that happened through a crystal ball, similar to that of the hokage.

"Do you see that young Rin? Do you see how this girl replaced you? The Leaf doesn't care for you anymore and not even the young Uchiha went looking for you. And didn't Kakashi promise to always protect his comrades? Come, we can change the world and achieve peace. And then you can finally be together with the one you always wanted, Kakashi Hatake."

Rin's eyes turned to slits and she glared hatefully at the people shown in the crystal ball. Her team had betrayed her! Obito had left her in the enemy hands and Kakashi hadn't even set out to search for her! If it had been that snake girl, she knew he would have turned the world upside down to find her. She had been replaced and it was all the girl’s fault! She had to die and then Kakashi would finally be free of that silly crush of his and be with her. They would live in a peaceful world where Kakashi would never have to risk his life again.

"Okay, Madara-sama. Teach me the way to a peaceful world," the brunette said determined.

Madara smirked evilly at his new puppet. Kakashi Hatake would not destroy his plan again!

"Let's begin by giving you a pair of new eyes to control that beast inside of you."


	28. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A belated Christmas present for everyone!   
> Love, Stella

Panting, Kakashi finished his training.

Ever since his father's death he had increased his training regime and since Rin's death his training had become almost suicidal. The time traveller trained every day to the brink of exhaustion with only one goal in mind. To get stronger! The last couple of weeks could have been described as torture for any sane shinobi but Kakashi didn't stop and pulled through. He didn't stop when Anko begged him to take a break, he didn't stop when Orochimaru told him it was enough, and he didn't even stop when he had tortured his body so much that in the end, he had coughed up blood after his training exercises.

There was no stopping Kakashi Hatake, all citizens of Konoha, shinobi as well as civilians realised that in those last few weeks. It didn't make much sense to them that their Silver Reaper was training like he prepared for an Apocalypse when there were promising signs that the war was coming to an end. 

They thought that perhaps he was still grieving the loss of his teammate Rin Nohara, considering that the other teammate Obito Uchiha did the same thing although in a less suicidal manner. 

What none of them knew, well except Orochimaru, was that Kakashi was indeed preparing for an event similar to an Apocalypse. He was preparing himself for his last fight with Hanzo the Salamander and the protection of Akatsuki. 

In a slow jog, he went back to the Uchiha clan compound to pack his bag. Orochimaru and he would leave Konoha tonight to travel to Ame. The Snake Sannin had somehow gotten Hiruzen to sign their official leaving request, so at least they wouldn't be marked as missing-nins. 

_'At least one good thing,'_ he thought grimly.

Kakashi had gotten to his room unnoticed and was now throwing kunai and shuriken into his travel bag. A couple of scrolls with food and water followed as well as medical herbs and bandages. There was a very high likelihood that this battle would end in a bloodbath and he'd like to be prepared for the worst-case scenario.

Lastly, the time traveller took a beautiful katana out of his wardrobe and gazed at it gently.

**_~Flashback~_ **

_There was a soft knock on his room door but Kakashi couldn't be bothered to get up. He had just lost his father, couldn't they let him grief alone?_

_"Kakashi sweetheart?"_

_Mikoto's soft voice sounded from the other side of the door and the time traveller's heart felt suddenly so much heavier._

_That woman was just too kind, she didn't deserve what had happened to her in the timeline Kakashi came from. She had taken him in, given him a home but most of all she had given him love and compassion._

_Getting up sluggishly, he trudged towards his door to open it slightly._

_"What is it?" he asked hoarsely._

_Mikoto felt her heart swell with love every time she laid eyes on the broken boy that was now under her protection. Often times she wondered, if she could really help him and why Sakumo had made her the boys' guardian and not Kushina or Minato._

_The raven-haired woman had been good friends with Clary, Kakashi’s' mother, when she had been younger and before she had taken over the position of Uchiha Matriarch. After that, their friendship had slowly grown apart, a fact that saddened Mikoto greatly._

_The news of Clary's death had hit her hard and unexpected and she had shamefully to admit that she had purposefully avoided the small Hatake family after wards. She just couldn't bear to see Clary's legacy, knowing that their friendship had fallen apart because she had put her duties before her friends. She hadn't even had the chance to say goodbye._

_That was until that one day, when a young silver-haired boy appeared in her clan house and swore to protect her new-born son. There she could see that Clary’s only son, Kakashi, had the same kindness and determination that Clary once had._

_"Can I come in?” she asked him gently and when Kakashi, after a moment of hesitation, stepped back she pushed the door firmly open, as if she pushed her way not only into the room but also into the heart of the young boy._

_Taking a deep breath, the raven-haired woman armed herself inwardly and slowly revealed a long, rectangular box from behind her back._

_"I have something for you, Kakashi."_

_Holding the box in front of him, she watched the boy intently. She hoped, yeah even prayed, that he'd like it and that it wouldn't worsen whatever he was feeling right now._

_Reluctantly, the time traveller took the box and eyed it warily. He wasn't used to receiving gifts, after all he was only Kakashi Hatake._

_Putting the box carefully on the floor, he knelt next to it and gently lifted the lid._

_On red velvet laid a gorgeous katana with a midnight black hilt. The hilt was adorned with red and silver ornaments and when Kakashi shyly pulled out the blade, he could see his own ebony eyes in the shiny blade. His gaze snapped up to Mikoto as if expecting her to laugh at him and snatch the beautiful weapon out of his filthy hands._

_"It is yours."_

_"Mine?" whispered the time traveller perplexed._

_A sad smile grazed the woman's face. It was horrible that the boy couldn't believe that he'd get a gift from someone other than his father. The war was killing all childish innocence of him._

_"Yes. That katana was a gift from your mother to me when I took on the title of Uchiha Matriarch. Although, Clary wasn't a kunoichi and worked in a civilian school she had been an incredible gifted swords smith. I find it fitting to give it back to her legacy. I've never used it, simply because it was soon after that that she died. I couldn't bear to carry her last masterpiece; it just didn't feel right. But I believe Clary would like you to have it and, in this way, she'll always be a part of you and be able to protect you. And that is the greatest wish of every mother. To protect her child. She loved you so much. "_

_Mikoto watched worriedly as Kakashi just silently stared at the sword._

_"You don't have to carry it now," she hastily added. "Just take it whenever you feel ready or good. It is yours."_

_The time traveller looked up at her with unshed tears in his eyes and whispered: "There has never been a time in my life where I ever felt good enough and worthy enough."_

_Not even with his students. With them he felt good and at home, but did he ever feel like he was worthy of those three incredible shinobi? No._

_The Uchiha's heart broke all over again and she didn't hesitate to wrap her arms around the distraught boy._

_"You are. I promise there will be a day that you see it too."_

**_~Flashback End~_ **

Determined, he put the sword on to his back. A look at the clock in his room told him that he had been caught up in his memories for far too long and that it was time to leave. 

Quietly Kakashi walked into Itachi's bedroom to say his goodbyes. But he couldn't bring himself to wake the sleeping boy instead he kneed down to give him a kiss on the forehead.

"Sleep well Otouto," he whispered and patted the young boy's hair.

In the end the time traveller forced himself to leave the room. Downstairs he met Mikoto who quietly waited for the Jounin. 

Frowning, she crossed her arms and told him: "I don't like it."

"Mikoto," Kakashi sighed. "I have to do it."

"But why? Last time you fought Hanzo he almost k-..." 

Averting his eyes from the worried woman, he told her the same thing he had told her ever since she had found out about his mission.

"Hanzo has to die and I got Intel that there will be an attack on him soon. And this time I won't be alone, Orochimaru will be with me." 

"But why can't you take your platoon with you?" 

Arching an eyebrow, Kakashi crossed his arms and asked sarcastically: "And lead them to their early grave? Not a chance. My platoon will not get involved into this fight."

Mikoto knew it was pointless to try and persuade Kakashi when the silver-haired boy had put his stubborn mind to something. And unfortunately, the boy had put his mind to a lot of dangerous things during the last years. 

Sighing, she went to hug her boy before he'd leave but then her eyes met the black katana hilt on Kakashi’s back. 

"I-Is that Clary's katana?" 

"Hn." 

It took a moment before the realisation hit the two but when it did Mikoto slapped her hands in front of her mouth to suppress a hysteric giggle and Kakashi hid his severely blushing head in his hands. 

"Oh, my kami, that was so adorable!" the Uchiha Matriarch squealed.

"You will never mention this to anyone," the time traveller groaned. "I've been spending too much time around you Uchiha. I always thought it was genetic..."

Giggling, Mikoto wrapped her arms around the blushing boy. 

"I'll take the knowledge with me to my grave,” whispered Mikoto softly into his ear. "I'm proud that you decided to take Clary's katana. It will protect you, I'm sure. Now, do what you always do and end that unnecessary war." 

"Thank you, Mikoto," whispered Kakashi just as gently before he broke out of the hug and left the Uchiha clan house without looking back. 

After the boy had walked out, Mikoto let herself fall down on a chair and put her head worried into her hands. She prayed that Kakashi would really come back, she couldn't bear to lose the last Hatake. 

Kakashi calmly walked through Konoha, a slight red hue still covering his cheeks. 

"Do I want to know why you're blushing?" Orochimaru's voice cut wryly through the air. 

Rolling his eyes, Kakashi responded chuckling: "No, you really don't."

"But I do." 

Shocked, Kakashi turned around and stared perplexed at the purple-haired girl that came out behind Orochimaru. 

"Anko?!" 

"Hi, Kakashi. Now, I'd like to know why you were blushing," responded Anko and gave her boyfriend a peak on the cheek. 

But Kakashi was too confused to reply to his girlfriend and instead roasted the Snake Sannin with his glares. 

"What is Anko doing here?" he hissed.

Cheerfully, said girl entwined her hand with Kakashi’s' and told him: "I' m going with you." 

"What!?" the time traveller lost all colour and pulled away from the girls touch to look her into the eyes. "Orochimaru!" 

"Don't blame me," grumbled the Sannin sulkily. "There was a reason I took her on as my student. You have no idea how terrifying she can be, you've got yourself a crazy one Kakashi."

"Anko, you have no idea what you're getting into. I won't let you leave with us!"

"And I won't stay here while you fight the same man that almost killed you!"

"You're only a genin! You'll get into the way!" 

"Hah!" triumphantly Anko smirked. "I'm a Chunin now and I've got permission from Hokage-sama to accompany you two." 

"A Chunin? When did that happen?" asked the time traveller perplexed. 

"You're not the only one who trained like mad. I told you that wherever you have to go I'll be right next to you and I intend on keeping that promise." 

"But..." 

"Can we get going or do you want to continue your lover quarrel?" asked Orochimaru grimacing. "If you're planning on persuading Anko to stay back, then you're wasting your breath." 

"You can't possible think of letting her tag along!" exclaimed Kakashi with widened eyes. 

"Hiruzen allowed her to come as well. That was also one of his conditions," the last part mumbled Orochimaru quietly, knowing that Kakashi would be furious. 

"What?! How could you possible agree to something like that!" 

Crossing his arms, the Sannin grumbled: "... Didn't have much of a choice..."

It wasn't like he was ecstatic to take his student with them to this battle. 

"Can we finally go?" asked Anko smiling and pulled the silver-haired boy towards the large gates. 

Grimacing, Kakashi grabbed her wrist harshly and turned her so that she'd be forced to look into his eyes. 

"You won't leave my side for even a second and you'll do exactly what I'll tell you no question asked. If I tell you to dodge, you'll dodge. If I tell you to run, you'll run. And if I tell you to get the heck out of there, you'll get out! Is that clear?" he hissed angrily. 

"Yes." Anko told him sternly.

She didn't try to argue with Kakashi, knowing that her presence alone on this mission made him paranoid enough. But what could she do? There was no way she'd leave him alone.

"Good," grimly the time traveller continued to hold on to her wrist and started to walk out of Konoha with Orochimaru following him.

On their whole travel to Ame, Kakashi had gone through every possible situation in his mind and he was slowly going insane. All of his careful planning was for nothing only because his stubborn and at the same time brave girlfriend had decided to tag along as if the mission was some sort of relaxed evening walk! How could he fully concentrate on saving Yahiko when the girl he liked was with him and inevitable in danger? If push came to push and he'd have to decide between the Akatsuki or Anko he knew without hesitation he'd chose Anko every time, even if the world would greatly benefit from a sane Akatsuki.

Orochimaru would be able to look after himself and Kakashi didn't doubt that the Sannin would pull back when he came into a sticky situation but Anko was... Anko. She had too many traits that sometimes reminded him of Naruto. Her loud and brash behaviour and her total negate of dangerous situation were just a few of them.

"I'm sorry that I made it harder for you, Kakashi-kun. But I couldn't let you go alone."

Anko had walked next to the time traveller and was gently taking his hand. Sighing, Kakashi shook his head. He knew that she meant only good, but it was so...

"I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have snapped at you back in Konoha but I'm just worried, okay? Personally, I'd like you to be at least two countries away from Hanzo and even that wouldn't be enough to calm my nerves. And now you're going to be in a twenty-meter radius of that man!"

"I'm going to be just fine, you'll see."

Instead of replying, Kakashi wrapped his arms protectively around the girl and hid his face in her neck. Grimly, he stared into the distance, a bad feeling settling into his heart.

"It will start soon."

Orochimaru had walked up to the two children with his hands in his pockets and his face marred a grim expression very much alike to Kakashi’s'.

Unwilling, the time traveller broke away from the loving hug.

"Okay. Listen up you two," he sighed, his hand still holding on to Anko's unwilling to let her go. "The Akatsuki are a group of merchandisers and are currently trying to overthrow Hanzo in order to free Ame from his reign. I'm not sure how many members they have exactly but there are three vital members. Konan, Yahiko and Nagato. 

As far as I know Yahiko has ginger hair and is the official leader of the group. Konan has light purple hair and is a close friend to the two boys. You could say she's their weak spot. Nagato is an Uzumaki so you'll recognise him by his red hair, he also has something called the Rinnegan. It is similar to the sharingan and can be incredibly powerful. Also, they were all trained by Jiraiya-sama."

For Orochimaru it wasn't a surprise to hear this information, Kakashi had told him more than enough times about the powerful foe Nagato became, but for Anko those were all things she had never heard of and she gasped quietly.

"Your sources must be really good to infiltrate Ame and rely that information to you."

Rubbing his neck uncomfortably, the time traveller replied awkwardly: "Yeah, something like this. Anyway, they don't know that we're coming so they might see us as enemies and try to attack us. If they do, just try to defend yourself without killing them." 

Hereby, he looked pointedly at the Snake Sannin.

"I'll try," muttered Orochimaru and rolled his eyes.

"Our main objective of this mission is one, to kill Hanzo and two, to make sure that those three children survive. Hanzo will most likely go after Konan to blackmail the two boys. We have to protect her by all means necessary, is that clear? She can't under no circumstances fall in his hands!"

The time traveller knew that he had made the point more than clear, but he couldn't stress enough that Konan's safety and therefore, Yahiko's life were of utmost importance. They were key players in how the future would turn out.

"We understand," replied the two snake summoners simultaneously.

Rubbing his temple, Kakashi sighed.

"Good. My ninken won't be much of a help to find Hanzo with this rain so we'll have to find his chakra presence, okay?"

Orochimaru nodded sharply and immediately sat down to find the salamander's chakra signature.

"Anko."

Looking up to the silver haired boy she saw deep worry but also cold determination in his eyes.

"You'll help Nagato."

The name felt like poison on his tongue. Even if this time's Nagato was still an innocent child and didn't know of the crimes he had committed, Kakashi couldn't forget the pain and destruction the red haired had brought. Everything in him resisted to send Anko anywhere close to the Uzumaki but he knew that she'd be safest around him.

"If he listens, tell him that we're friends of Jiraiya. If he doesn't, don't let yourself get killed by him and get out of there!"

"You'll fight Hanzo, right?" asked Anko quietly and gripped her boyfriend’s hand tighter.

"... Yes..."

"I've found him, and it appears as if the Akatsuki are already fighting," exclaimed Orochimaru and stood up again.

"Good. Lead the way and let's go."

Hanzo was proudly standing on top of a cliff and looked down on the three children that continued to get into his way. All around them, members of their group were either knocked out or killed and they were surrounded by Hanzo's troupes. They had no chance to survive the fight against a couple of hundreds of his shinobi but somehow, they didn't want to give up. 

"Admit defeat and you'll receive a quick death," he told them again but just like before the children were determined to ignore his merciful option. 

"Never!" shouted Yahiko and gripped his kunai stronger. 

Sighing loudly, Hanzo made a sign to his shinobi to attack and end the Akatsuki but it shouldn't come that far. 

His shinobi were already jumping down from the cliff they were standing on when there was a flash of silver and only body parts landed around the three children. 

Enraged, he ordered his men to stay put. When the shower of body parts - he grimaced at the gruesome sight - had ended, three hooded people stood in front of the Akatsuki. 

A wind blow pushed their hoods down and gave sight to their faces. An angry snarl marred Hanzo's face when he recognised the shinobi. 

"Kakashi Hatake and Orochimaru of the Sannin. I never thought you'd be willingly coming to me and what do we have here? Is that one of your little toys Kakashi?" 

His sharp eyes didn't miss the way how the young Jounin had pushed the girl protectively behind him. 

"Or is she perhaps the one?" 

"Stay away from her!" snarled Kakashi, losing his cool for a moment. 

Laughing out loudly, Hanzo smirked at the younger boy and told him: "It will be my pleasure to make you watch her die. You were the only one to ever escape my prison and therefore you must be punished!"

In that fraction of a second as Hanzo closed his eyes because he was laughing again, Kakashi shunshinned next to him his katana raised to cut the man down. 

Blade met blade and Kakashi was pushed away. No matter how good he was, Hanzo was still physically stronger. Gritting his teeth, the time traveller continued to engage the salamander on a deadly sword dance. 

"Who are you?"

Yahiko had pushed Konan slightly behind himself and Nagato and was now staring expectantly at the two shinobis in front of them. 

"Orochimaru-sama?" asked Nagato hesitantly. 

The children had seen the Snake Sannin for only a short period of time before he had left them with Jiraiya so the Uzumaki wasn't sure if it really was the same man. 

"Nagato, Konan, Yahiko. Good to see you alive. This is my student Anko and we're here to help you,” the Snake Sannin told the three sharply before reflecting the kunai that were thrown at them. 

Arching her eyebrow, Konan asked warily: "Konoha wants to help us?" 

"Isn't that great?" cheered Yahiko and a hopeful smile grazed his face. "I knew Jiraiya-sama wouldn't let us down." 

"Actually," - the group had to dodge a couple of water jutsus that Hanzo's shinobi aimed at them and Anko realised that they had a sever disadvantage if most of the shinobi here, had a water affinity - "Jiraiya doesn't know that we're here," huffed Orochimaru as he threw a shinobi that had come to close away. 

"Huh?" perplexed, Yahiko stopped in the middle of the fight and if Anko hadn't pulled him down he'd be roasted by a fire jutsu by now. 

"Get your head into the game," she hissed at the ginger irritated. 

"Jiraiya doesn't even know that you plan on overthrowing Hanzo, you can thank Kakashi that we're here. He heard of your plan and since he still had some unfinished business with Hanzo himself, he thought it to be a good idea to join in." 

Harshly, Nagato pulled Anko to the side to protect her from a damn water dragon and asked incredulously: "That was the Kakashi Hatake? The Silver Reaper of Konoha? The only one ever to escape Hanzo's high security prison?" 

"Yes," hissed Orochimaru as he cut through two shinobi that had tried to corner him. "And I'd be careful how you handle Anko. Hanzo was right to assume that she's precious to our dear Kakashi, she's his girlfriend."

Nagato quickly pulled his hands off of her and he as well as Yahiko swiftly searched her for any injuries. They had only heard stories of the esteemed Silver Reaper of Konoha and his famous 7th platoon and they didn't want to upset the boy in any way. 

"Shouldn't we focus more on the fight?" asked Konan but her protest went unheard when there was a loud explosion and a body was thrown across the valley and hit the stone wall, ultimately ending their pleasant conversation. 

"Kakashi-kun!" Anko screamed scared when she saw the silver hair peeking out from underneath all the red blood. 

_'Please don't let it be his!'_

"You'll stay where you are," hissed Orochimaru and pulled his student back, only to sprint towards Hanzo himself. 

"Sensei..."

Meanwhile, Kakashi was quickly getting up again and wiped the blood from his face. That damn Salamander was strong, and he couldn't use his sharingan because he wasn't the only one here. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Orochimaru running towards Hanzo and at the same time summoning Manda. Channelling his chakra to his hand and going through the familiar signs, the time traveller moved beneath the ground to where he could sense Hanzo's chakra. 

His Chidori already formed around his hand, he pushed himself out of the ground, aiming for Hanzo's heart. The way was free but then it was suddenly blocked by Hanzo's hand that grabbed the young boys' leg and flung him away again. 

_'I really need to grow taller,'_ the time traveller thought wryly as he hit a stone wall again and another one of his rips broke.

Before he had the chance to get to Hanzo again, he was surrounded by hundreds of Ame shinobi. Gritting his teeth and tightening the grip on his katana he started to cut through them one by one.

Hanzo's enraged scream sounded across the valley and with terrified eyes Kakashi watched as the shinobi threw away Orochimaru as if he was a pesky fly and turned towards Konan. Yahiko and Nagato had been separated and pushed to the other ends of the valley, too far away to help their friend and from Anko was no sign to see.

 _'At least she got out,'_ thought Kakashi relieved.

Everything went in slow motion for the time traveller as Hanzo pulled his sword - drenched in his famous and fatal salamander poison - back and thrusted it aiming at Konan. 

Suddenly, a flash of purple jumped in front of Konan and Kakashi could feel his heart stop for a moment. Panic-stricken he realised that his trusted shunshin wouldn't be fast enough. He wouldn't get there in time to protect what was his! 

_'Do it!'_

The Jounin could have sworn that he had heard his students shouting, begging him to stop over thinking the consequences and act. 

A blazing red entered his vision and he immediately felt the familiar chakra drain. 

_'I will not make the same mistake! I will not lose her!'_

**_~Flashback~_ **

_'How could it come to this?!' Kakashi thought hysteric as his eyes settled on his students on the ground._

_They had been on a mission when they were overrun by Zetsus. Somehow, they had been able to pin Naruto and Sasuke down to the ground and now one of them had Sakura in their hands and held a kunai dangerously close to her throat._

_"Choose. Who should live and who should die?"_

_Kakashi’s eyes widened with fear. How could anyone expect him to make such a choice?_

_"Save Sakura-chan, sensei!" shouted Naruto and struggled against his restraints._

_"Don't you dare Kakashi-sensei! The Allied Shinobi Forces need Sasuke and Naruto to win this war!"_

_"The dobe has the Kyuubi, we need him to win against Madara," muttered Sasuke and glared at the silver-haired man._

_'They are my students; I can't choose who to kill! Naruto is the chosen one, Sasuke is the last Uchiha and Sakura is the greatest medic and has even surpassed Tsunade-sama! We need all of them!'_

_"You're taking too long to choose," snarled the Zetsu and smirked._

_With a swift movement he swiped his kunai over Sakura' s throat and let her harshly fall to the floor._

_His student automatically touched her throat and frantically tried to stop the bleeding._

_There was a second of silence before Naruto as well as Sasuke and himself screamed out in fury and the two ripped out of their restraints. In a fast and wild motion, they cut down their enemies and reached Sakura._

_The pinknette had her byakugou activated and her slit throat was slowly healing. Kakashi scooped her up and without glancing back the three shinobi ran towards their head quarter._

_'I almost lost my student because I thought too much about the consequences!” thought Kakashi frantically._

**_~Flashback End~_ **

Forcing his chakra to aid his will, he kamuied in front of the two girls, pushing them away and grabbing Hanzo’s' sword hand harshly. 

Staring furiously into the hated man's eyes, the time traveller put more and more pressure on Hanzo's wrist and easily breaking it. 

Hanzo stared frozen in fear into a mismatched pair of eyes, the blazing red of something that resembled a sharingan mirroring his terrified expression. Scared, Hanzo pulled his hand out of the Jounin grip and in the same movement letting go of his sword, when an even more horrifying realisation crossed his mind. 

That boy had allowed him to free his hand! 

And for the first time in a very long while, Hanzo the Salamander was scared for his life! Because in that furious, merciless, cold expression that clouded the silver-haired boy's eyes, he could see his own death. 

"Look..." the time traveller snarled, ignorant to the fact that the battle around them had ceased. "It takes a lot to get me worked up, but this time you really did it. Your death was already destined but now that you dared to touch my girl, it won't be a pleasant death."

_'Tsukuyomi.'_

Caught in the Mangekyo Sharingan's unbreakable genjutsu Hanzo fell to the floor, writhing in pain. Not wasting another look at the doomed shinobi, Kakashi turned to search for Anko. When he saw her next to Konan - uninjured - he let out a relieved sigh. He was next to her in the blink of an eye, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into his chest. 

"The fight is over," he ordered coldly and none of Hanzo's shinobi dared to disagree with the young boy. 

Embraced in her boyfriends' arms, Anko had time to look around the destruction they had caused. Hundreds of shinobi were laying around, either dead or slowly dying and it caused tears into her eyes. It was the first time she had witnessed such slaughter and it made even a seasoned shinobi like Orochimaru feel slightly sick. But when she looked up to the boy that had caught her heart, she couldn't see any sign of discomfort on his face, not even pity. 

"Don't you care about their deaths?" she asked him hesitantly. 

Shrugging, Kakashi looked around to assess the damage they had done. 

"Why would I?" 

Perhaps, his answer was cold and was proof to Rin's accusation that he was indeed a monster, but Kakashi had learned that caring about your enemy would only get you killed in the end. It wasn't like he didn't remember them or that he didn't value life, it was just that he had become numb to the killing. But Anko didn't know that.

Furious at Kakashi’s carelessness, Anko wriggled out of the hug and glared at him. 

"What if I died? Would you care at all?" 

Suddenly, she was pushed against a stone wall and Kakashi gripped her tightly. At this moment she could see right into his soul as he glared at her. 

"You won't die," he hissed, his eyes showing her that he was dead serious. "I won't let anything happen to you." 

Caught up in the moment, Anko didn't notice that she pushed him too far with her next question. 

"But what if I did. What if, someday you're not here? Would you even cry for me?" she asked with tears brimming in her eyes. 

Kakashi’s' body went numb and he slumped forwards, ending up hugging her. The thought of losing her stole him all of his strength. Wasn't it enough that he had almost lost her only minutes earlier? Didn't she know how much she meant to him? That he'd always safe her? 

Guilt. 

That and shame were the only feelings that Anko currently felt when she met the distraught eyes of her boyfriend. How could she have used his fear of not being enough so mercilessly against him? What did she think? 

"Kakashi..." she started wobbly, suppressing the sobs that wanted to come out. 

"No," he interrupted her hoarsely. "I wouldn't shed a single tear for you." 

It felt like someone had brutally ripped out her heart, when she heard those cold words from the boy she loved. 

_'So, I'm not even worth a tear,'_ she thought hurt. 

Hastily, she tried to get free of Kakashi’s' hold but he only held on to her stronger. 

"Let me go!" she cried. "Please!" 

"I wouldn't cry for you; I would follow you." 

Her heart went still, and she stopped her struggling. 

Kakashi looked at her, showing her his tear-stained face as he continued: "Crying won't bring you back but if I die, I can be together with you once more. I would give up anything for you, Anko. My mission, my life, my responsibilities. Anything, if it means to be with you." 

Anko didn't know what to say. That was the most heart-breaking confession she had ever heard and even if he didn't say the words, she knew what he meant. 

"I love you too," she whispered into his ear and kissed him softly. 

Awkwardly, Orochimaru and Akatsuki stood on the side lines watching the whole event. But none of them, other than Orochimaru, knew the real meaning behind Kakashi’s words. The time traveller was prepared to give up his possibility to change the world for a girl. He didn't know how he should feel about that.

"They forgot about us, didn't they?" asked Yahiko and averted his eyes when Kakashi leaned down to kiss Anko again.

"Yes," replied Orochimaru wryly. 

"Should we remind them?"

"No."

A while later, they were ready to bid their goodbyes to the Akatsuki.

"We owe you a lot, Kakashi," said Nagato after thanking the time traveller profusely.

"Yes. Thank you so much for saving Konan. If Hanzo would have gotten his hands on her... I would have done anything to protect her," said Yahiko, causing Kakashi to think back what had happened in his time because Yahiko had clearly cared so much about the girl.

A dark look crossed his face, too quickly for anyone to notice, and he pulled Anko closer to him.

"I know," he said quietly because he would have done the same if it were Anko.

Meanwhile, Konan had walked next to Anko touching her on the shoulder. Reluctantly, Kakashi let his girlfriend go and the two girls walked a few steps away from the boys.

"Thank you for what you did," said Konan smiling.

"Ah," scratching her neck in embarrassment Anko waved dismissively. "I didn't do anything, Kakashi-kun was the one to save us in the end."

"But you were the first one to jump in front of me. Do you..." this time it was Konan's part to look embarrassed. "Do you think we could be friends?"

That question hit Anko fully unprepared and she was momentarily stunned. 

A friend. 

Somebody was asking her to be her friend! Racking her mind for any memories, she realised dejectedly that it was the first time that someone had asked her that question. She had friends in Konoha, obviously. There was Asuma, Gai, Obito, Kurenai and Genma, although the later had spent less and less time with them since his team had gotten more and more mission, but they had all been Kakashi’s friends at first! Not hers.

"Yes!" she exclaimed happily and hugged the other girl.

Chuckling, Konan reciprocated the hug before gently pulling her new friend off of her. She was so happy that Anko said yes! The girl was her first and only female friend. Yahiko and Nagato were great but they were...boys.

"Anko!"

"Sorry, Konan but we have to go. But I'll send you a summon and then we can exchange letters!" shouted Anko waving and ran towards Kakashi and Orochimaru.

Together they travelled back to Konoha and when they reached the village after a week, they were greeted with some surprising news.

"The war is over! Konoha won the war!" Obito was the first one to greet them at the gates.

After Rin's death he had lost some of his bubbly personality but even her death couldn't overshadow the positive news.

Kakashi didn't want to destroy their positive feelings especially not when he saw Anko’s relieved smile, but something about that sentence pissed the war veteran of.

Sighing, he mumbled: "No. In war there are no winners, only survivors. We didn't win but survive."

But his wise words went unheard due to the loud and cheerful celebrations.

In the evening, after they had participated in the celebrations, Anko and Kakashi now lay in his bed in the Uchiha clan head house. Even though it was nearing midnight, sleep was far away. 

"How do you do it?" whispered Anko suddenly and turned to look at the silver-haired boy. 

"Huh? What do you mean?" 

"How do you live with the knowledge that you killed so many?" 

Averting his eyes from her and instead staring into space, the time traveller replied quietly: "I just do." 

His answer was cold and short and definitely not what Anko expected but he couldn't explain it to her any better. 

"Do you remember them?" 

"... Yes... I remember every single person I killed, the fear in their eyes, the way I killed them. I don't forget a single thing and every time I lose a little bit of myself." 

Anko lovingly caressed his cheek before cuddling closer to him and hiding her head in his chest. 

"I can't forget them," she whispered, and images of the slaughter crossed her mind. 

The time traveller was once more brutally reminded that the people here hadn't seen the destruction that the Fourth Shinobi World War brought, hadn't gotten used to the pain and anguish that accompanied every day and he didn't know how to comfort Anko. So, he told her what he thought was important. 

"I'm here. You're never alone." 

That night, wrapped in Kakashi's strong arms, she cried. 

She cried for the many shinobi that had to die. 

For the friends everyone had lost. 

For the families that were torn apart.

But most of all, she mourned their innocence. 


	29. Chapter 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took me so long and I honestly have no excuse. Anyway, let me know what you think about it.  
> Love, Stella

_~Time skip 9th October 0 BNB~_

Anko was sitting on a tree branch, thoughtfully enjoying some dango and watching her boyfriend of one year train on the training ground beneath her. Or, as she liked to call it, try to kill himself.

Even after all these years she still didn't know what was going on the silver-haired man's genius mind. However, she had learned to read and trust his intuitions, no matter how senseless and crazy they appeared.

Hence, why she heavy heartened put her dango away and took out her weapons to sharpen them and probably end up buying new ones to increase her arsenal. Whatever made Kakashi restless and agitated, she'd be prepared for it.

Ankos' intentions were good without a doubt, but she was oblivious for what destruction she was preparing for. Nobody did, except the time traveller and his friend Orochimaru.

Kakashi had felt insecure many times since he had first arrived in this time. Every event he changed be it small or big he had worried about the possible consequences and what would be the best way. But nothing could compare to what he was currently feeling.

The 10th of October was coming closer and closer and he still didn't know how to deal with this day. So much had happened in the last years and he had finally reached the point he had longed for but at the same time had wanted as far away as possible.

Team 7 would soon be together again.

All that was missing was Naruto.

**_~Flashback~_ **   
_Leaning on the reception desk whilst giving the head nurse his sweetest smile, he turned his head slightly to the side to give him an even cuter appearance. Jiraiya-sama's Icha-Icha Paradise always said that this would be the easiest and most fool proof-est way to get what you wanted and Kakashi was not above using dirty tactics to get his way. He just hoped Anko wouldn't see him act like this because his lovely girlfriend would never let him live it down._

_"H-Hatake-sama," stuttered the older nurse blushing. "What can I do for you?"_

_Giving her a radiant smile, that caused him inwardly to shiver because it had way too much resemblance to Gai's, he replied casually: "I need information about the Haruno family, in particular where they live."_

_"I-I can't do that Hatake-sama."_

_"I won't tell anyone that I got the information from you."_

_Red-faced the poor nurse continued to shake her head._

_"I'm sorry but this information underlays the patient confidentiality. If you want the address you need to talk to Hokage-sama."_

_"No."_

_"Why not, sensei?” asked Kakashi and tried to keep his annoyed tone out of his voice._

_The nurse had been a dead end, he should have known better. After all, Sakura had been the leading Head-nurse in the war and had even then valued the patient confidentiality. He guessed stubbornness was a genetic trait of every nurse. So, in the end, he had indeed ended up talking to Minato, who had taken the position of hokage a couple of years ago when the third Shinobi World War had ended. And damn, was his sensei persistent in not giving out civilian’s information without a good reason. Normally, the time traveller would have encouraged his senseis' persistence but right now, he was playing with the thought of simply breaking into the office to get the address._

_Folding his hands, Minato watched his student intently._

_"Give me a reason and I'll them to you."_

_He had to admit, he was curious what his prodigy student wanted from the Harunos - a civilian family._

_'Yes, of course. Let me just quickly think about a reason. Hmm, how about because I want to make sure my student is safe, oh, and I'm actually a time traveller and been in this timeline for about 9 years or so. Oh, or how about I want their new-born daughter - who I have absolutely no ties to whatsoever - as one of my genin students.'_

_Hiding his balled fists in his pockets, he put on an aloof expression, shrugged with his shoulders and told Minato: "No reason at all." before he left the office._

_Strolling through Konoha with a scowl on his face, Kakashi didn't notice that he had ended up at the shopping district. His mind was racing with thoughts on how he could find his female student now. Both of his best leads had been a dead end and now that Minato knew that he was interested in getting the information about the family, he'd surely tighten the security measurements around the office. It wasn't like Kakashi wouldn't be able to break in, it would just make it a little bit harder. Especially if he had to break through the seals of a seal master._

_'If I have to, I'll just knock on every damn house until I find her.'_

_The time traveller quickly dismissed this thought. That would be way too stalker-ish even for him and even though he was quite the famous person in Konoha, he was pretty sure he'd be trialled for stalking and that would only give Inoichi Yamanaka the perfect reason to pull hi m out of active duty. Something the man still hadn't given up on and it had only gotten worse after Kakashi had made ANBU Captain a couple of months ago._

_He was abruptly pulled out of his thoughts when he got almost knocked out by a flying apple._

_Perplexed, he stared at the deep hole in the solid house wall and the splattered pieces of what once had been an apple before looking incredulously in the opposite direction. His feet brought him automatically to where the apple had been thrown and the closer, he got, the better he could hear the screeching voice of a woman._

_"Your prices are horrendous, shannaro!"_

_Glancing warily at the shop, Kakashi stepped inside only to see a furious woman and a cowering shopkeeper._

_"Please, Haruno-san." the shopkeeper pleaded and hid behind the counter._

_"Haruno-san?" asked Kakashi wondering and flinched inwardly when the furious gaze of the woman settled on him._

_Now he knew where Sakura got her violent and frightening tendencies from._

_Taking a double look at the silver haired boy, Mebuki Haruno let go of the trembling shopkeeper and replied politely but with a hint of curiosity: "Hatake-sama? Can I help you with something?"_

_When Mebuki had turned around to look at the time traveller, she had automatically given him free sight of the petite pink-haired baby girl in her arms._

_'Sakura!'_

_Immense relief filled the ANBU Captain when he laid eyes on the first of his precious students._

_"Ma, Haruno-san, there's no need for such honorifics. Please, just call me Kakashi." he said and waved hand in a dismissive manner._

_"Kakashi-san, then." said Mebuki and had now fully forgotten the shopkeeper._

_Noticing the glances that the famous Jounin stole at her daughter, she asked him curiously: "Is there something wrong with my daughter?"_

_Shacking his head quickly, the time traveller stumbled over his own words when he tried to explain to the intimidating woman his intentions towards the baby girl. He was pretty sure that Mebuki wouldn't take too kindly if he told her he wanted her baby as student to teach her the way of a ruthless killer._

_"No, of course not. If I may ask, what is her name?" he finally burst out, remembering that he shouldn't know Sakura at all, and it would only question his trustworthiness if he slipped up._

_"Her name's Sakura." replied Mebuki smiling but kept an expecting expression on her face._

_Somehow, she had the feeling that this wasn't thew real reason behind the not so secret glances. Suddenly Kakashi bowed slightly, causing Mebuki and the other curious spectators to almost stumble back in surprise. Kakashi was known to be a very proud shinobi and only showed respect by bowing to single individuals, so what had a civilian woman done to get such a reaction from the Silver Reaper?_

_"Kakashi-san?" she asked perplexed._

_"Please allow me to protect Sakura-chan."_

_"Huh? But my family has no ties to you or your clan whatsoever. Why would you want to protect my baby? She's not even a shinobi and I don't particular want her to take up that work. If you plan on turning my little cherry blossom into one of those child soldiers, then...."_

_At first, Mebuki had been perplexed by the unusual wish of the young Jounin, but when she caught on that perhaps the man just wanted to increase the shinobi population, anger coursed through her entire body. But it disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared when the silver haired boy shook his head violently and looked at her with burning determination in his eyes._

_"No Mebuki-san, not at all. I-.... There are things in this world that can't be explained and that is one of those things. Please, just believe me when I tell you that my only desire is to watch Sakura grow old. The civilian life can be just as dangerous as the shinobi life, but I swear on my life that I'll protect her."_

_Thoughtfully, the Haruno starred at the bowing war hero._

_"...Okay Kakashi-san. Do what you have to do, just make sure that my baby girl is safe."_

**_~Flashback End~_ **

Whereas finding Sakura had been a tedious piece of work - not really but Kakashi disliked imagining how long it would have taken him to find the little pink-haired girl if not for the market incident - Sasuke’s birth had been rather funny, at least for everyone that had seen Kakashi.

**_~Flashback~_ **

_Kakashi was nervously waiting in the hospital waiting area, next to him Anko and Itachi._

_When Mikoto had told him nine months ago that she was pregnant once again, he had cried in relief. Not that he would ever admit it. He couldn't wait to embrace his raven-haired student again._

_The chance to have Team 7 around again was so close! They would finally get the life they deserved, no unnecessary war and shunning, they could be the children they should have been the first time around._

_What he hadn't expected was his nerves acting up._

_It was an... let’s say unusual sight to see the feared Silver Reaper nervously pacing in the hospital. Especially, when he usually avoided that place like the plague._

_Not even Anko was able to calm the agitated Jounin._

_"What if something goes wrong?" he muttered and continued to pace._

_Rubbing her temples, Anko replied: "Everything will be fine."_

_She loved the boy to death but right now he was really trying her patient._

_"What if one of the nurses is an assassin?"_

_"...."_

_"You're right, it probably would be the doctor."_

_"..."_

_"What if there is an attack on the hospital? What if..."_

_Tugging on Kakashi’s shirt, Itachi looked at his brother with a serious expression and told him: "Kashi-nii, are you sick? I think you're hallucinating. Do you want me to get a nurse?"_

_Dumbfounded, the time traveller stared at the young boy while Anko laughed out loud._

_"Hatake-sama, Mitarashi-san, Uchiha-san, are you here for Uchiha-sama?"_

_A young nurse had stepped next to them and was looking curiously at the blushing war hero._

_"Ah yes, we are." said Anko chuckling whilst at the same time Kakashi shouted: "Is she and the baby okay? Did something happen?"_

_"Don't worry, Hatake-sama. Uchiha-sama and her baby boy are well. She wishes to see you."_

_Gnawing with the end of her shirt awkwardly, Anko said: "Than I'll wait here. Give you a family moment or something..."_

_"Nonsense. You're already family to me." replied Kakashi and took her hand and pulled her and Itachi with him._

_Inside the hospital room, Mikoto lay in a hospital bed holding a small raven-haired boy in her arms. Now the third of her son's was born and she loved him already dearly. Even though she had partly hoped for a girl, she wasn't disappointed. No, her Sasuke would become great, she had no doubt about it. With a protective brother like Kakashi and a kind brother like Itachi her boy would be showered in love. And call it motherly intuition, but she had the feeling that Anko would one day fill the position of a daughter-in-law._

_The Uchiha Matriarch chuckled when she saw Itachi with wide curious eyes walk into the room, closely followed by a nervous Kakashi and a shy Anko._

_"Kaa-chan!" shouted Itachi and scrambled onto her bed only to stop midway when he laid eyes on his baby brother._

_"Hello Itachi, Kakashi and Anko. I hope you haven't been waiting outside for too long." she greeted them kindly._

_"No, of course not."_

_Kakashi was quick to dispute the woman's worry but she could still hear Anko mumbling: "That boy stood outside the hospital ever since you got into it and didn't stop pacing."_

_"Hmm, that's good." she decided to not further embarrassed her oldest son, seeming as he had done so himself enough. "Do you want to hold your brother Sasuke?"_

_A small blush covered Kakashi’s' cheeks again as he eagerly asked her: “Can I?"_

_Chuckling, Mikoto motioned him to come closer. "Of course, you can. Didn't we have a similar conversation by Itachi's birth?"_

_"Hmm."_

_The time traveller decided not to reply to the question since Mikoto knew the answer already but instead took carefully baby Sasuke. When he had him in his arms, the baby looked at him with large eyes and snuggled closer to him._

_Joke-fully, Mikoto admitted defeat. Apparently, she had lost her second baby to the Hatake. Just like Itachi, Sasuke showed a lot of compassion for the silver haired teen and she had no doubt that the teen reciprocated the feeling equally._

_Itachi wanted also to cuddle with his bit brother so he climbed on top of his shoulders. Quietly laughing, Kakashi helped him to sit down steadily whilst also holding little Sasuke close to his heart._

_At that moment, when Anko saw her boyfriend feeling so peaceful and whole surrounded by the two children, she fell in love with him all over again._

**_~Flashback End~_ **

His breathing had calmed down to a normal rate and he could feel the fatigue in his entire body. He had pushed himself to his physical limits again, but he didn't regret it. The time traveller knew fair well that it was an unhealthy bordering to suicidal way to deal with his anxiety - his students had told him that multiple times during the war - nevertheless, it was the only way he knew.

"Are you done for today, Kakashi-kun?"

Anko had left her tree branch and was now standing next to the silver-haired boy with a loving look in her eyes.

Giving his beautiful girlfriend a lazy smirk, he nodded and replied teasingly: "It looks like I wasn't the only one doing something useful."

Slightly blushing, she bashfully wrapped her arm around Kakashi's waist and leaned onto him.

"Of course not. But I realised that I need to stock up on my kunai and shuriken. Some explosion seal and pepper bombs would be useful too. Would you go shopping with me?" she mused and looked at her boyfriend with what Itachi-kun had named 'the-puppy-dog-eyes'. That little Uchiha was a master in these arts.

Frowning, Kakashi shook his head.

"Sorry Anko-chan, but I need to talk to Orochimaru. There are a few things I have to deal with first. "

Disappointment filled her but she tried her best to not let him see it. Ever since Kakashi had made ANBU Captain after the war, they had had less and less time together. Of course, she didn't blame him! And she was proud of his achievements. It was just that every time he had a mission, she couldn't sleep because of her worry and fear and she was agitated until he was in her arms again. It didn't minder her worries, knowing that Kakashi was probably as strong as the three Sannin combined - he beat her sensei in 9 out of 10 cases with ease - or that the last time he had been injured was after his fight with Hanzo the Salamander.

"Oh, okay."

The purple-haired girl forced a smile on her face and squeezed his hand reassuringly.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow then."

Pulling away after giving the boy a peck on the cheek, Anko prepared herself for another boring and lonely evening. Perhaps, she'd meet Genma or Kurenai at the shopping mall. A quick tug on her wrist caused her to fall back against Kakashi's chest and she was immediately engulfed by strong arms that held her as if she was the most precious thing in the world.

"Anko, I... please stay at the Uchiha compound tonight. I don't want to let you out of my sight if I can help it."

The scared voice of her normally composed boyfriend broke her heart and scared he more than she'd like to admit.

"Something big is going to happen, right?" she asked quietly with a tremor in her voice.

"Just wait for me." pleaded the time traveller and ignored her question.

He couldn't answer her something that he wasn't sure of himself. Time was unpredictable and now that he had stated to change things, his ability to predict events based on his past became more and more vague. In the end, Kakashi was just a man that was haunted by terrible memories and a weight on his shoulders that shouldn't have to be carried by himself.

Turning around to face the silver-haired boy, Anko leaned her head on top of his chest and wrapped her arms around his torso. Listening to his steady heartbeat had become one of her favourite things to do, it told her that he was still with her.

"I'll wait for you at home. Just come back quickly, okay?"

"Thank you."

Smiling, Kakashi gave her a loving kiss on the forehead before he reluctantly let her go.

"I don't know what to do, Orochimaru."

Kakashi sat tiredly in Orochimaru’s living room and told his closest friend the worries that had plagued him for years now.

"I feel like I'm playing God and I hate it! How could anyone want to be that powerful? Kushina is giving birth to Naruto tomorrow. If she keeps Kurama than Naruto won't be a jinchuuriki, but he also will never befriend the biju. They will never become the greatest duo in history and Kurama will keep his hatred towards humankind. And let's be honest, having a biju willingly by your side is a damn good thing.

But if I let the seal break and seal Kurama into Naruto, he will lose his mother! I can't just take that away from him, not after all he wanted was a family, parents. And I can't just kill Kushina because I want my team to be exactly as before. And it's... it's just so wrong on so many levels. Even if I'm not as close to her as in my past, she had been my mother figure in another life. She is Minato's wife, a villager of Konoha, a friend .... If I do this, then I'm not better than Nagato or Madara or Obito. They all just wanted their form of peace by any means necessary."

Orochimaru watched thoughtfully his young friend. He could see where his worried came from and he felt pity that the boy would have to soil his hand with blood again.

"Did you find another seal that would work just like the Yondaimes' seal?" asked the Sannin.

That was another huge problem that was influencing Kakashi’s decision. If he didn't find another seal, there would have to be another human sacrifice to seal Kurama. And Orochimaru knew the time traveller would never let Minato do it.

Letting his head hang defeated, Kakashi sighed heavily.

"No." he admitted sorrowful.

That was ... worrying. Orochimaru's snake like eyes narrowed and he searched the boys' face for any sign of a lie.

"Do you plan on doing the seal yourself?"

"...if necessary..."

A heavy silence surrounded the room and none of the two knew what to say next.

"I'll need to get back home, Anko is waiting for me." Kakashi mentioned after a while and stood up.

Orochimaru silently brought him to his door.

"Everything is going to be okay."

He wasn't sure if he tried to reassure the time traveller or himself, nevertheless it didn't work. Kakashi gave the Sannin a fake grin before leaving into the night. Grimly the Snake Sannin turned back into his quiet house.

He wouldn't let the boy's life end tomorrow.


	30. Chapter 29

It was the 10th of October at exactly 5.35 pm when the sky darkened, and all hell broke loose.

Anko and Kakashi had spent the night together in his room at the Uchiha clan head house and since then they hadn't been apart for even a minute. Sometime during that night young Itachi had crawled into his brother's bed and snuggled between the two shinobi. He had been woken up by a bad feeling with tears in his eyes and had done the first thing that had come to his mind.

Find his Nii-san who would undoubtedly keep him safe.

Kakashi hadn't hesitate to embrace the shaken boy and nobody would know that he had held on to two of his precious people a little bit tighter that night.

In the morning they had had a nice breakfast with Mikoto and at some moments - unnoticed by anyone - Kakashi’s hands had trembled in something akin to fear and he had quickly hidden them from the sight of the others.

Then the time traveller, Anko and Itachi had spent the rest of the day playing with Baby Sasuke and Baby Sakura. Kakashi had enjoyed every single minute with them and even if nobody else knew what was going to happen, they had noticed the tense atmosphere and had been clingier and touchier than usual.

When it had been time for Sasuke's and Sakura's nap and Itachi had promised to stay with Mebuki-san, who would watch over the two babies that afternoon, Kakashi had decided to walk through Konoha with Anko - subconsciously visiting all of his important places for what might be very well the last time. 

At exactly 5.35 pm they stood in front of the memorial stone, Kakashi having wrapped his arms around Anko as she leaned against his chest, when suddenly the sky darkened to a pitch black colour and a storm arose. Kakashi was the first to noticed and when he did, he tightened his grip around Anko so hard that his knuckles turned white and his girlfriend turned to look at him confused by the sudden pain. But when her eyes noticed the paleness of his face and the thin line of sweat covering his body, her lips tightened to a thin straight line and she bit the inside of her cheek in worry. 

A loud howl shook Konoha and it was as if it was some kind of signal to Kakashi because the Jounin appeared to be ripped out of his motionless state. Without spending a look at his worried girlfriend, he grabbed her wrist and formed with his other hand the sign of a shunshin.

Anko hadn't even known that he had perfected the use of only one handed seals. 

The ringing of the alarm bells of Konoha greeted her ears when she and Kakashi appeared in front of what she recognised as Mebukis' house. The time traveller pulled her determined with him, still not talking to her.

Suddenly the house door was thrown open and a frantic Mebuki stormed outside only to stop when she noticed Kakashi and Anko. Panic-stricken she ran towards them. 

"Kakashi! You need to help me! They are out there with Itachi-kun!" 

Sakura's mother tore her fingers violently through her hair as she paced hysterically in front of the two shinobi. The children had only been gone for like an hour and only because the two babies had woken up much earlier than planned. And Itachi had been so kind to offer to go out with them but if she had known...

A cold feeling of panic and fear filled Kakashi and Anko was the only one to know of it because this grip around her wrist tightened even more, so that his nails ended up cutting into her flesh. But she didn't wince knowing that Kakashi had enough on his mind already. 

"I'll get them," the time traveller told the hysteric woman, his voice having taken on a cold and cutting tone. "Get into one of the bunkers, I'll promise you they'll be safe." 

He didn't waste more time on Mebuki and instead pulled Anko into another shunshin. 

Today he was more than glad that he had modified the summoning seal he had given all of his precious people at the start of the Third Shinobi World War. Now he was able to shunshin directly to any of the seals, very much like Minato's hiraishin. 

A terrifying howl echoed through Konoha and whilst the civilians screamed in panic and shinobi swarmed the streets in an attempt to bring order, Kakashi knew that the decision had been made for him. 

Naruto would be the new jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no Yokou. 

They appeared in a dark alley and the time traveller eyes searched quickly for any sign of his beloved brothers and Sakura. He didn't have to wait for even ten seconds before Itachi had come out from his hideout and clung to his leg. Sakura and Sasuke safely tugged on his back. 

"Kashi-nii," the little boy muttered whilst trying to keep up a strong front in front of his brother. 

Kakashi picked the three children up and pressed them relieved to his chest. For a moment he had let go of Anko, but he soon took her hand again and shunshinned to the closest safe point. 

When they appeared, they were surrounded by other young shinobi, Jounin and Chunnin alike, that were held back by some of the older shinobi. Kakashi recognised one of the older shinobi as Kurenais' father and he remembered that this was the moment where Yuuhi-san had told them the importance of the younger generation of Konoha. Grimacing, he thought that this time he wouldn't be able to listen to the older man even if he wanted to. He couldn't stay here. 

"Oh, my rival, it's good to see you made it. And I see you have three youthful children with you. You must have saved them, what a sign of a powerful youth!" 

Gai had noticed Anko and Kakashi and had walked over to them, hiding his worry beneath his usual ramble of youth. He wondered why his rival had only spared him a quick glance before returning to his girlfriend and the three children, but he guessed it was the worry. He didn't blame him. 

"Anko," Kakashi whispered and let the children to the ground so he could embrace his pale girlfriend. 

"Please, tell me it's not..." 

He interrupted her pleas with a sweet and tearful kiss. 

"I love you and I am so sorry." 

And just like he had done once before, he hit a pressure point on her neck, successfully knocking her out. Anko had no chance to defend herself and was gently caught in Kakashi’s arms. 

The time traveller looked with an unreadable expression at Gai before pushing his unconscious girlfriend in his arms. 

"She'll wake up soon, make sure she won't follow me," he told his old friend harshly. "And... Look after yourself Gai..."

"My rival..." 

By the time Gai had realised what was going on, Kakashi had turned to the three children. 

"Otouto."

Itachi looked up to his brother, averting his gaze from the monstrous figure that had appeared not far from Konoha. 

"Nii-san what is happening?" the young Uchiha fought to stop the tears from falling. 

Kakashi kneeled and softly hugged his younger brother. With one hand he gently wiped some stray tears from his brother’s face - Itachi hadn't even noticed that tears were already rolling down his cheeks. 

"I love you Itachi and I once swore to protect you. There will be hard times in your life, but I know you are strong enough to get over any hurdle put in your way. Promise me that you will never let other people bring you from your path and do with your life what you want to. I... There is so much I'd like to say but most of all remember that you are not alone. I'll always be there for you in one way or another."

"Kashi-nii..."

Tousling the Uchiha’s' hair gently, he whispered: "Take good care of Mikoto and Anko." 

"Promise,” the child mumbled under tears. 

Turning to the two babies that had been surprisingly quiet, Kakashi felt his own tears swell up. A howl and an Earthquake reminded him of the brutal reality that his time was running out. Patting the two children softly on the head and hugging them quickly, had to be enough.

"I'm sorry to leave you."

With a last, lost look at his friends that had joined them in the meanwhile, the time traveller smiled sadly before shunshinning out of the barrier that surrounded the younger generation. 

Nobody knew if they would see their friend again, but the bad feeling was something that didn't them leave them. Kurenai leaned against Asuma and Obito stood behind his little cousins and the pink-haired baby whilst Gai was still holding Anko when Genma appeared looking frantically for his two best friends. A look in the grave eyes of his friends and at the unconscious Anko told him enough to let out a frustrated scream. 

Kakashi had a hero complex way too big for his own good.

Exhaling deeply, Kakashi appeared next to Orochimaru who in turn stood at a clearing whilst his summon Manda fought against Kurama.

"Plan?" the Sannin asked harshly as he had to dodge a claw of the Kyuubi.

"Minato?" replied Kakashi in turn.

"No idea."

As if to prove the Snake Sannin wrong, the blond Hokage appeared and went through a series of hand signs before he as well as the Kyuubi disappeared.

"Damn Hokage," cursed Orochimaru.

How could they stop him from going through that suicide seal if he just disappeared?!

"You have to keep Kurama busy for a while. I'll get Minato out of that area, so he won't be able to go through the seal. Kushina's fate is already signed, she won't be able to hold Kurama again, Naruto will be the new jinchuuriki." Kakashi went quickly and coldly through the new plan without giving Orochimaru time to interrupt. 

Only seconds later the Sannin was grabbed by Kakashi’s hand and forced into a combined shunshin.

Minato had no idea how everything could have turned to shit in a matter of minutes. Everything had gone well during the birth of his son but than a person had invaded the safe house they had been in and had been able to take Kushina. The blond had been too busy to safe his new-born son from the unknown threat that he - the yellow flash - had been too slow to safe his wife as well. 

Only moments later had a hate-filled howl echoed through Konoha and Minato had known that he had lost his wife. A jinchuuriki died without his bijuu. A heavy weight settled in his heart when he realised what he had to do and a look on his sleeping son brought tears to the strong man's eyes. Frustrated, he had hiraishinned with Naruto to a faraway clearing, where he prepared the sealing altar. 

Leaving his child reluctantly, he hiraishinned back to Konoha and took the Kyuubi with him before the beast could destroy more of his village than it had already done. Out of the corner of his eye he had thought he'd seen a flash of silver but that couldn't be true. Kakashi was safe with the rest of the younger generation, his student wouldn't go against the order of an older shinobi. 

His toad summoning was currently sitting on top of the Kyuubi - something both animals hated- as he prepared himself to go through a seal that would undoubtedly take his life. But the good of Konoha was more important than anything. He was only glad that Kushina wasn't here to witness what he'd do to their son.

Suddenly Kakashi and Orochimaru appeared next to Minato and his silver-haired student put his hand firmly on the blond’s shoulder. 

The Hokage watched incredulously as Orochimaru went to attack the Kyuubi and his heart clenched painfully when he saw the grim expression on his student’s face. 

"Don't,” Kakashi ordered him coldly. "Konoha needs you as Hokage and Naruto needs you even more as a father now that Kushina is gone."

How was it possible that the boy knew what he was thinking about?

"Evacuate everyone and make sure they are far away from here. After this fight most of Konoha will be raised to the ground but it's nothing that can't be rebuild. Sorry in advance for all the paperwork sensei." 

"I can't flee and let the Kyuubi destroy Konoha and then there is that person..." protested Minato, enraged that Kakashi could even think of asking him to stay away.

He was the Yondaime Hokage of Konoha! 

"I'll stop them, but I need all of you to be away," replied Kakashi and reflected a stray attack. "Careful where you aim!" 

"What do you think I'm doing?!" shouted the Snake Sannin and send another attack at the Kyuubi. 

Taken aback by the lazy exchange of words between the two shinobi whilst a tailed beast was free, Minato exclaimed: "Are you out of your mind?! You're an exceptional shinobi but you're no god!" 

"Minato-sensei." Kakashi pulled him calmly out of the way of a claw of the Kyuubi. "There are things that you don't know about but just know, that I have been preparing for that fight my entire life. There is nothing that will stop me."

"Are you sure about that?" 

A familiar voice cut through the air and filled the shinobi in the clearing with confusion, fear and panic. 

"R-Rin?" Kakashi whispered shocked and stared motionless at a dark clothed person that leaned lazily against a tee branch. 

"Impossible," muttered Minato.

Not only did that person sound like his dead student Rin but that person was also responsible for Kushina’s death. 

Far too relaxed than Kakashi was comfortable with, the person lifted their dark hood to give free sight of short brunette hair, violet strips on the cheeks and a pair of blazing red eyes. 

"... No...", Kakashi stumbled a few steps back. 

That wasn't planed! He hadn't even thought of that possibility! She was meant to be dead! 

"Kakashi!" 

Orochimaru's warning shout was too late and he was helplessly flung against a tree. 

His head was spinning when he got the chance to sit up again after something had grabbed his leg and flung him around like some kind of toy. At was only thanks to Minato that that something had let go of. Now, with his vision slowly becoming clear again he saw something right out of a nightmare. 

Rin - his teammate that he had buried and mourned for- was fighting Minato with a ferocity so unlikely of the once kind medic. Furthermore, she didn't look like human anymore and Kakashi knew the claws and poisonous chakra that surrounded her far too well. 

_'A jinchuuriki with sharingan can control the bijuu inside of them to their every wish. They are just as dangerous as Naruto and Kurama had once been.'_

Angrily he slammed his balled fist to the ground and cursed loud and colourful. That wasn't supposed to happen. How was he supposed to fight a raging bijuu, a furious jinchuuriki with perfect control over their beast and keep Konoha safe? Was that all just some sick joke of Kami-sama or what?! 

Tears of frustration brimmed his eyes when he suddenly felt a gentle touch on his shoulder and was helped up. 

"Jiraiya, Tsunade," the time traveller muttered. 

The two Sannin looked at the young boy grimly and Tsunade quickly let her hand wander over his body checking for any grave injuries. 

"What are you doing here?"

"We could ask you the same thing," replied Jiraiya seriously as he watched the ongoing battle closely. 

Any other time he would have laughed at seeing his teammate getting his ass kicked but this was no time to joke. 

"You shouldn't be here gaki," Tsunade murmured and hit him over the head. 

_'Goddammit,'_ thought Kakashi as he rubbed his aching head. 

He froze in his movement when a bijuu bomb was send into Konoha’s' general direction and Orochimaru was pinned to the ground by Kurama. 

"Kakashi you should get out of here," whispered Tsunade gravely. 

The Sannin were well aware that they wouldn't survive this fight.

Shrugging her of, Kakashi stumbled a couple of steps forward and stared intently at the large fox, in the background he could hear Minato pleading to Rin and the enraged screams of the jinchuuriki. 

"I need you to help Minato-sensei. Rin can't unleash the Sanbi under any circumstances! If you kill the jinchuuriki with the bijuu inside, then the bijuu will ultimately disappear too. They will reappear at another time and place but that will only be in a couple of years. It will take time for them to regenerate the chakra."

The two Sannin shared an incredulous look before turning simultaneously to the Jounin and asking: "And what do you plan on doing?"

"I'll deal with Kurama."

"Kurama?"

But the time traveller had already disappeared and reappeared on top of the bijuu’s large head.

"He's crazy, absolutely crazy," muttered Jiraiya in shock.

"I think suicidal is the word you're looking for," added Tsunade before she turned to where Minato and Rin had disappeared. "Let's follow his plan."

Shaking his head, the Toad Sannin whispered: "You're crazy too. I'm surrounded by crazy people."

Kakashi kneeled on top of Kurama’s snout and slowly breathed in and out. Cutting of any unnecessary thought he forced his chakra carefully into his eyes and soon he felt them change.

Mirrored in Kurama’s large angry eyes was a single red eye with a delicate black pattern. 

Kakashi’s Mangekyo sharingan.

The Kyuubi growled angrily and shook his large head violently in an attempt to get rid of the pesky shinobi on top of him, but to no avail.

The time traveller put on hand gently onto the large bijuu and stared with his sharingan determined into the bijuu’s eyes. It was the first time that he tried to communicate with the Kyuubi so he had no idea how it would work. 

Suddenly he appeared in a white space and in front of him was the large figure of the Kyuubi.

"How dare you human try to control me, the great Kyuubi no Yokou!" Kurama growled and bared his teeth at the silver-haired boy.

Instead of feeling fear, Kakashi felt something akin to relief. At least Kurama wasn't so different to what he had been in his past. He could definitively work with this.

"Kurama..."

The time traveller couldn't even say another word as he was violently pinned to the ground with the large chakra being towering over him.

"How do you know that name?!" snarled Kurama. "Who are you?"

Panting Kakashi muttered: "Let me show you."

Kurama was surprised that he actually considered that human’s offer, especially since he appeared to be one of those pesky Uchiha although he smelled slightly different. He was even more surprised when he couldn't smell any fear from the young boy that was in his grasp. So, hesitantly he let go of the human and sat back waiting.

"Show me," he growled, not letting the human out of his sight.

Whatever that weak human had to show must be important and he was curious how that boy could have known his name. A name that he hadn't told anyone but his father.

Suddenly he was pulled into a whirlwind of colours. 

Only moments later, the large chakra being opened his eyes again and looked at the silver-haired boy in a new light. 

"Kakashi Hatake," howled the fox and smirked. "You really are something else." 

Letting out a relieved breath, Kakashi let himself fall back and chuckled. 

"It's good to have you back Kurama." 

"Ah, I suppose you think I'm on your side now, hmm…” mused the fox and watched with delight as Kakashi stumbled over and stared at him with panic filled eyes. 

"W-what?" 

Booming laughter filled the empty void. 

"I'm joking human! I guess you'll want to seal me into Naruto again?" 

Slowly Kakashi’s face became colour again. For a moment he really had thought that Kurama would be against him after all...

"Yes. But Minato won't be the one doing the seal, I will. I hope you understand why it is necessary Kurama."

"Time travel, hmm. Never thought I'd see the day it would happen. But yes, I am okay with the kit being my jinchuuriki again. Perhaps we'll become friends earlier than in your time, it would definitely not hurt." Kurama eyed the time traveller carefully. "You are aware that Naruto will still be hated, right? From what I've seen you've become a pretty well-known figure and the villagers will blame him for the death of their hero." 

Sadness filled the silver-haired Jounin because he knew Kurama was right. 

"Minato won't let it come to that and Orochimaru will look after him as well. He will tell them the truth of what happened and that you have been controlled by... Rin." 

"That pesky human was your teammate Rin?" asked Kurama astound. "She has my brother under control as well. Kakashi you..." 

"I'm sorry Kurama but we don't have another vessel," Kakashi muttered, unsure of how the bijuu would take to the ' _death_ ' of his brother. 

"That is fine. And it will give me something to tease him with when we meet the next time," the large fox chuckled. "But Kakashi, you should get out of here. We've been here for quite some time now and I'm certain that human has given your friends some problems." 

Kakashi was immediately alerted again, somehow, he had forgotten about the other danger out there. 

"Thank you for everything Kurama," he told the bijuu sadly before slowly disappearing. "You'll watch over the kids, right? Even Sasuke?" 

Sighing, the fox put his head on top of his paws and whispered: "I'll protect all three of them, even the Uchiha. Don't worry about it." 

But Kakashi had long disappeared from the void and was back into the reality, unable to hear the bijuu’s' reassuring words. 

It shocked everyone when the raging Kyuubi suddenly laid down calmly and didn't bat an eyelash to the fights around him. Jumping down from Kurama's large form Kakashi landed next to Orochimaru who stared at the bijuu gaping. 

"What did you do?" he whispered in awe. 

"He knows and agrees with the plan," Kakashi replied nonchalant. 

Staring at the time traveller wide eyed, the Sannin whisper-shouted: "You told him?!" 

"I told you as well and he will be a powerful ally for you," he replied smirking. 

"For me?" Orochimaru asked overwhelmed but Kakashi had disappeared again. 

Shaking his head in confusion, the Sannin quickly followed the Jounin but not without a last wary glance at the large chakra being. 

Meanwhile Jiraiya, Tsunade and Minato had their hands full with fighting an enraged jinchuuriki. Especially since Minato was hesitant to strike his former student down. He couldn't believe that Rin - kind and gentle Rin - was responsible for the death of his wife. 

"Rin, please calm down," the blond begged his former student but was only regarded with a stream of boiling hot water. 

Suddenly he heard the voice of his male student whispering: "Chidori." and the clearing was filled with the loud chirping of a thousand birds. 

Kakashi’s chidori never connected with Rin as he was grabbed by his wrist and the jinchuuriki pinned him to the ground. 

"Kakashi-kun," the girl growled but then she was no longer holding down the young Jounin but instead a rock. 

Standing a few feet away from the jinchuuriki was Kakashi with a deadly expression on his face. 

Not a second later he had jumped at his former teammate again and engaged her in a quick paced taijutsu fight. That was until Rin covered her entire body with the poisonous chakra of a tailed beast and Kakashi ended up with heavy chakra burns. 

Meanwhile the Sannin and Minato stared with awe at the fight before them. 

"We have to help him," muttered Minato worried about his student. "He's no equal to a jinchuuriki." 

But he was held back by Orochimaru who shook sorrowful his head. 

"You'll only hinder him." 

"But..." 

"Just watch." 

As if he had heard Orochimaru words, Kakashi went through a series of hand signs, too quick for the others to recognise. That was until he was suddenly engulfed by a light blue chakra that grew and grew until the figure had the same size as the Kyuubi with large wings on his back. 

"Is that the..." Minato whispered in shock. 

"The Susanoo," the Snake Sannin replied grimly. 

Rin snarled in anger and let the bijuu’s chakra grow to take on the form of a large turtle. 

The fight had now reached new heights and the villagers from Konoha were frozen in fear. Not only was the Kyuubi out there but now there were also two other giant beasts. How could they hope to survive that night? But when the giant blue warrior started to attack the giant turtle a celebrating shout rang through the crowd.

Kakashi’s friends stood together and watched the spectacle. The worry about their friend was etched deeply into their faces. When the blue warrior appeared, Asuma looked questioningly at Obito.

"Isn't that some kind of blood line limit from the Uchiha clan?"

Gulping Obito nodded: "The Susanoo. But there hasn't been an Uchiha able of doing one for decades."

Little Itachi clung harder to his little brother and Sakura and whispered worriedly: "Nii-san."

"I loved you Kakashi-kun!" screamed Rin as she aimed another water bullet at her teammate.

Kakashi dodged the attack barely but even then, he couldn't find words to tell Rin. He didn't know what to tell her. All he could think about was how she could do that to them? To Konoha?

"I loved you so much but instead you chose that witch over me! You didn't even care that I was gone, you've been so enamoured by your pesky girlfriend! Why can't you see that you'd be so much happier by my side!"

He didn't want to listen to her words anymore. That wasn't the Rin he remembered, that wasn't his teammate. Forming another chidori in his hand he charged at her. 

But before he could connect, the quiet cries of a baby rang through the clearing and Kakashi felt his blood freeze. 

Rin used that moment of carelessness to grab his ankle through his Susanoo and flung him away. The heavy chakra of the bijuu burned on his Susanoo and the loss of his concentration caused him to lose it for good so when Kakashi hit the Hokage monument - apparently a jinchuuriki could throw very far - there was nothing to cushion his landing. 

Suppressing a pained scream, the time traveller didn't waste time to shunshin back. He appeared to a sight he never wanted to see. 

Minato and the Sannin had been thrown to the side and were slowly sitting up again, Kurama was towering protectively above Naruto and Rin in her bijuu form was crouching in front of the baby, snarling at the blonde and the fox. 

Everything happened in slow motion. 

Kakashi saw her pulling back her arm aiming to thrust it at Naruto as he subconsciously went through a series of seals. 

In a whirlwind of leaves he appeared in front of the baby, his arm - surrounded by lightning and the sound of a thousand chirping birds - was thrusted forwards and suddenly he held something familiar pulsing in his outstretched hand. 

Shocked he stared over Rin’s shoulder at the pulsing heart in his hand. 

An insane smile grazed her face as she tried to grab Kakashi’s shoulder. 

"You fool," she hissed as blood ran down her mouth. "You once said you didn't believe in the kindness of the world, but you were kinder than anyone else." 

With anguish Kakashi remembered his last words to her before she Kiri had taken her. 

"Told you, you'd be by my side," Rin whispered before she fell to the ground. 

For a fraction of a second Kakashi couldn't make sense of her strange words, that was until a piercing pain shot through his torso and he felt his clothes dampen. 

Bewildered the time traveller stared at the large dark red spot on his chest that spread further and further. His hand went automatically to his open wound to stop the bleeding as he turned to look at the bijuu behind him. 

Kurama smiled sadly at the human before him.

Kakashi’s gaze wandered to the blond baby beneath the fox and he kneeled down to at least caress Naruto's cheek once. Clumsily, he followed the outlines of Baby Naruto's face, his fingers smearing his own blood all over Naruto, before he leaned down so their foreheads touched. 

"Stay safe Naruto," he whispered before he couldn't pretend anymore and slumped down next to the baby. 

Naruto's cries echoed in his ears as Kakashi felt his life slipping away. 

Rin had been right. He wouldn't stay in this life for much longer. 

Drowsily he went through the hand seals. 

"NO!" 

He could hear Minato scream from far away, but it was too late. The figure of the death Reaper appeared above him. 

Minato kneeled next to his dying student and his son. The young Hokage had lost all colour in his face and was tearing his fingers through his hair. 

"Tsunade you have to do something!" he pleaded the medic, but she could only stare helplessly at the dying young boy. 

There was nothing she could do once he had gone through the seals and Minato knew this. 

Kakashi's life was gone. 

Orochimaru stood motionless next to his friend, unable to form any coherent words. He... He had meant to go through the seals, not Kakashi! How could he have failed?! 

With the last of his strength, Kakashi forced a single word to come out. 

"Z... Zets... u..." 

Orochimaru was the only one knowing what the time traveller had meant to say. 

Zetsu was still out there and he left them with the responsibility of taking him down. 

Kneeling next to the silver-haired boy, Orochimaru took his cold hand and whispered: "Don't worry." 

It tore the Snake Sannin apart that Kakashi continued to be the exceptional shinobi that he had been his entire life until his death. Never caring about himself and putting Konoha's wellbeing over everything. 

With tears in his eyes, Kakashi stared at the faces of Minato, Orochimaru, Jiraiya and Tsunade until his vision slowly turned dark. 

Chuckling lowly, he realised: _'Ah, I wasn't ready to say goodbye.'_

 _When he opened his eyes again, he found himself laying on a beautiful field surrounded by flowers and the sun shining brightly. Quietly he sat up and looked around, until he realised that he wasn't alone anymore._

_Sitting against a tree was Naruto, on his left side was Sakura and on his right side was Sasuke._

_His three students smiled brightly at him, but he could see the sadness in their eyes._

_"Welcome home Kakashi-sensei." they greeted him simultaneously and a single tear left Kakashi’s mismatched eyes._

_He had finally come home._


	31. Epilogue

"... And that was the story of Konohas' Silver Reaper, Kakashi Hatake." Orochimaru ended the story with a sad smile on his face.

His eyes took in the three intently listening children that all regarded him with pretty similar looks.

Excitement but also sadness.

"Oh wow! That is my favourite story, dattebayo!" exclaimed the blond boy and jumped excited up and down. "Kakashi-sama is so strong! I want to be just like him!"

Smirking the Sannin patted Naruto's hair and told him: "You will be. I have no doubt about it."

A pink-haired girl raised her hand slightly and asked questioningly: "Did Kakashi-sama really protect us as babies? I mean it sounds so absurd!"

That caused Naruto to shut up and look at the Sannin with panic widened eyes. Maybe it was just a story all along and his hero hadn't even known about them. Maybe the Sannin just wanted to make them feel special.

"He really did protect you just like all of us. But you three are a special case, and do you know why? Because he would have let the world burn to the ground if it meant keeping you safe. He loved you more than you could ever understand," Orochimaru replied wistfully and with a certain tone of sadness in his voice.

Because it was the truth. Kakashi would have given up anything to keep these three innocent children in front of him safe. It wasn't just meaningless words and empty promises of a hero because he had already proven them. He had made the biggest sacrifice for those children. Not only did he give his life but he also - and Orochimaru thought of it as an even bigger sacrifice - had let go of his chance of happiness. He had let go of his chance of love - the first in his long life.

"But why?" Sakura asked insistently.

Shrugging, he told the curious girl: "Who knows. He must have had his reasons."

How could he tell them the truth? That Kakashi had been their sensei in another time and loved them enough to do everything in his power and more to keep them safe and from the horrible fate they once had suffered. How could he tell them?

His snake-like eyes wandered to the last of the three children, Sasuke Uchiha. The raven-haired boy had been unusually quiet and distance during the story. Normally, Sasuke would have been clued to the lips of whoever told the story of his older brother.

"Are you alright, Sasuke?" he asked the boy and suddenly the Uchiha was the centre of attention.

"Oi, what's up teme?" Naruto asked bashfully but when he saw tears glistening in his teammate’s eyes he quieted down.

"Nothing." Sasuke snivelled and turned away from the others.

Sakura and Naruto exchanged a look before they both hugged the Uchiha at the same time.

"Sasuke-kun."

"Teme."

"I... I'm just thinking 'bout Aniki and Kaa-chan. They miss Kakashi-nii terribly. They think I don't notice but I hear Kaa-chan crying every night and Itachi sometimes disappears for days, especially around his birthday and the 10th of October. I mean... It has been 13 years, but they are still mourning his death and... I just wish I had more than some blurry memories and stories," Sasuke admitted quietly.

Orochimaru had to admit to himself that Sasuke probably suffered the most from the three children about Kakashi’s death. The Uchiha family had changed since the 10th of October just like the Namikaze family but Minato had dealt with the death of his student far better, than Mikoto had dealt with the death of the boy she saw as her own son.

Unbeknownst to them, said Uchiha Matriarch had been listening to the entire story and seeing her youngest so upset made her feel incredible guilty. She had had no idea that Sasuke heard her cry in Kakashi’s old room for most nights. The loss of a son was something she couldn't cope with and having both of her other sons following Kakashi’s footprints as shinobi didn't do anything to minder her worry. Mikoto could just pray to any god she knew and Kakashi, that she would never have to see another child of hers die. Because that horrible sight of her boy's lifeless body was engraved into her mind and followed her where ever she went.

**_~Flashback~_ **

_Relief filled her when she finally found Itachi and Sasuke between Kakashi’s friends._

_Mikoto had been panicking ever since the Kyuubi had attacked Konoha because she couldn't find any of her children. She had met Mebuki in the safe house but the woman could only tell her that Kakashi was out looking for Itachi, Sasuke and Sakura. So the worried mother had no other choice but to put all her trust into her eldest._

_When the attack had stopped, Mikoto had been the first to run through the streets of Konoha in search of her boys. She had no plan how to find them until a kind shinobi told her that the younger generation was at the western end of Konoha and if she searched for Kakashi she would probably find him there._

_Unaware of the horrors she would encounter, Mikoto thanked him a million times before running towards the west._

_And true to the shinobi's words, there stood the younger generation. She could make out her nephew Obito as well as Gai and Asuma and even Genma - who she hadn't seen in weeks- and between all of them there were her little boys._

_Itachi clung desperately to Sasuke and Sakura but Mikoto didn't notice his tearful eyes at first, she was too happy to know they were safe._

_However, when she cradled her boys in her arms and Itachi hid his crying face in her neck and Sasuke was crying out loudly, she knew something was wrong. Very wrong._

_Searchingly she looked up to find out what was wrong and to find her oldest. She needed to make sure that Kakashi was alright as well. He probably thought she didn't notice, but Mikoto had known that something was bothering him. Call it a mother's intuition but she knew that he was worried and scared. However, she hadn't pressed on it, believing that he'd come to her and tell her when he was ready but her actions were something she would regret until her end._

_When her watchful eyes found Anko hunched over a motionless body and strands of familiar silver hair, she wished for time to rewind, for all of that to be just a horrifying nightmare or a miserable joke from Obito. Because she couldn't accept the mere thought that she might have just lost one of her children._

_Standing up with Itachi and Sasuke in her arms, she stumbled over to Anko and the body. The closer she came, the faster her heart beat and the louder the crying of her children got. When she was finally there - it had felt like an eternity to her - and caught a look at the body on the ground, her legs collapsed beneath her and she fell to the ground._

_Hesitating her outstretched hand hovered over the pale and bruised face of the one and only Kakashi Hatake._

_She was trembling and shaking, unable to form any coherent thought._

_From far away she could hear Anko's heartbreaking pleas, Itachi's sobs and Sasuke's cries but all she could focus on right now was the motionless body before her._

_Subconsciously her sharingan activated and Mikoto stared intently at Kakashi’s chest because maybe there was still a heartbeat. Maybe the others just couldn't see it. Maybe..._

_But when minutes passed and there was no heaving of his chest, no minuscule movement, she broke._

_Sobbing and weeping, the Uchiha Matriarch let go of her two younger children and carefully caressed Kakashi’s cheek with trembling fingers._

_"Oh kami, no. Please no. No, no, no. My boy, please not my boy."_

**_~Flashback End~_ **

Tears brimmed Mikoto's eyes and she decided to go back to the Uchiha compound. As she was leaving, she saw a flash of purple coming this way.

Suddenly Naruto pointed at someone and exclaimed: "Hey, there's Anko-San! Maybe we can ask her more about the Silver Reaper!"

Sakura's reflex was instantly and Orochimaru as well as Sasuke winced when they heard the sharp slap and Naruto's quiet _ow_.

"Naruto! You're so insensible! It is probably very hard for Anko-san to talk about Kakashi-sama. They were in love with each other and she lost her boyfriend!"

Rubbing his head, the blonde muttered: "I just thought..."

"Shhh! We don't want to upset her," whispered Sakura and slapped her hand in front of Naruto's mouth.

Even though the kids had tried to be quiet, Anko had already heard them. She didn't stop to talk with them but their words kept playing in her mind and brought up memories that she would have liked to forget.

**_~Flashback~_ **

_Anko woke up with a splitting headache and her first action was to curse like a drunken sailor._

_"Where the heck is that stupid bastard. I swear to kami if he doesn't have a good explanation for knocking me out again, I'll skin him alive! There will be no kisses or cuddles for him for the next weeks."_

_Only then did she realise that the people around her stared at her perplexed._

_Embarrassed, she tried to elegantly wiggle out of Gai's grip. After Gai let her down she looked around for any sign of her boyfriend. But all she could see was their friends and Itachi, Sasuke and Sakura. Anko was moving towards the three little children - she couldn't stand their terrified faces and Kakashi would have wanted her to look after them until he was back from wherever that idiot went to - when something in the corner of her eye caught her attention._

_Jiraiya-sama, Tsunade-sama, Hokage-sama as well as Orochimaru-sensei walked back towards them, all with a solemn expression. Hokage-sama was carrying a crying baby but Anko's attention was on the small body in her sensei’s arms._

_Suddenly, she felt like she couldn't breathe anymore._

_The others had noticed them as well and Genma moved to put his arm reassuringly around his best friend but Anko flinched away from his touch. In fact, she even stumbled a few steps away from all of them._

_Her body began to tremble, and she gasped frantically for air._

_"Anko, breathe," Genma told her in a calm tone but even he couldn't banish all traces of fear from his voice. "You're hyperventilating."_

_When the four adults came to a stop in front of them and Orochimaru put the body with great care on the ground, everyone could see the telltale strands of silver hair._

_A cry escaped her trembling lips and she let herself fall next to the lifeless body. Her trembling arms reached out for the body and she sobbed heart-breakingly into her boyfriend's chest._

_Anko couldn't believe it. It couldn't be true. He couldn't be gone. Kakashi couldn't have left her._

_Looking up through tears, she stared at her love's face. He was so pale, so beaten,so... Her fingers gently caressed his face, careful to avoid all the open cuts, and she almost flinched back at how cold he was._

_"You're okay," she whispered hoarsely as tears continued to stream down her face. "Breathe...Just breathe...Open your eyes...Come back...It's okay...It's over now...You're okay...Wake up...Please wake up...Don't do this to me...Don't do this to me...Don't do this to me...I love you so much...Come back...Don't leave me alone...Please!"_

_The people around them averted their eyes unable to watch the intimate interaction any longer._

_Anko's head shot up and she looked at the Slug Princess with hope._

_"Please, Tsunade-sama! Please! You have to do something! Something! You have to safe him! Please!" she begged through her cries._

_Sorrowful, Orochimaru kneed down next to his student and put his hand comforting on top of her shoulder._

_"He's gone, Anko. There's nothing Tsunade can do for him."_

_Sobs racked Anko's body as she held Kakashis' body even closer. She was unwilling to let go of him because deep inside of her, she already knew that it would be the last time she could hold him._

**_~Flashback End~_ **

Tears were now freely running down her face as she continued to walk past the children Kakashi had cared about so much and towards the only place she felt somewhat close to her late boyfriend. 

The memorial stone. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the end of Atonement, but Kakashi's story isn't over yet!  
> Go check out the sequel Salvation if you're just as desperate in need of a happy ending as I am!
> 
> Thank you for all your kudos and comments.
> 
> Love, Stella


	32. Sequel

Hey every one!

I just wanted to mention that the sequel Salvation is now up! 

Love, Stella 


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